This Thing Called Love
by oliviahotchner
Summary: After the Reaper's attack Aaron Hotchner has his world turned upside down. How he's supposed to go through this? Emily Prentiss manages to teach him the value of friendship, family and love, making him see that he is not alone. Based on season 5, shows the build of the relationship between the two agents, founded in companionship, understanding and inconditional love. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Remember I said I was working on a story based on the season 5? Well, here it is! It'll be a multi-chapter and the updates will be a little more slow then New Chances because I'm still writing this story. I only have ready until chapter 3 so I'll need a lot of reviews to motivate me and help me write this. I hope you'll like the begining. We'll start with the episode 5x01, with Emily finding Hotch at the hospital. Please, let me know what you think and if I should continue.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 1

Nine stabs. Nine _fr... reaking_ stabs.

 _It's a miracle that he's alive._

The doctor's words echoed on her mind. She looked at her boss lying on the hospital bed, covered with tubs and machines. Why did this happen? He is Hotch. He is Aaron Hotchner. He isn't supposed to be here. He is supposed to be invincible. He is the one who take care of the injured.

But here he was.

With nine _fucking_ holes on the chest.

She put the visitor chair beside his bed and stood there, looking at his face, watching his chest rise up and down, listening the beeping that indicated he was alive, he was still alive.

She thought about the road that brought them here. Since Boston with the Reaper's case and how he chose their leader to taunt. They knew that it was a case that was going to hunt them sooner or later.

But she wouldn't imagine that it would be like this.

She never wanted to put a bullet in someone's brain so much.

Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, half hour, one hour passes. And she stays there, sitting beside him. The team is still working on the other case and although she knows that she should be there, helping them, like the man by her side would want; she knows that she could never do this. She could never let him alone like this. She could never focus in anything knowing that he was in a hospital bed, unconscious and alone.

She is so distracted looking at him that she startles at the change in the beeping of the machine. Suddenly a handful of nurses and doctors enter the room and shove her out.

 _He's coding._

It's the only thing she manages to hear. Everything after that is just a blur.

Her chest is tight.

Her heart is raced.

Her palms are sweating.

There is a noise in her ear, a ring, caused by the pressure on her brain and heart.

 _He can't die._

 _He can't leave me._

 _Leave me?_ She thinks. Right then she understands. She finally understands the tightness that she is feeling; the need of being beside him all the time; the jitters he always manages to cause; the difficult of look into his eyes sometimes; the reason why she thought it would be so hard to betray his trust when Strauss asked; the despair she felt when he was involved at the explosion in New York. Everything was suddenly clear.

She was in love with him.

She was so irrevocable in love with him.

And she was watching him die.

 _He can't die._

 _He can't leave me._

 _I need him._

 _Please God, please. Please don't take him._

She doesn't realize she is crying until she hear the sob that manages to escape.

Suddenly there is a hand on her shoulder. She looks up and finds Morgan's eyes. Another sob escapes, then another and another. She is grabbing his coat and pressing her head on his chest, looking for some kind of strength that she can't find in herself anymore. His shirt is quickly soaked from her tears and he holds her tight. She feels the whole team by her side, but she can't force herself to look at them.

The doctor came from Hotch's bedroom and the team looks at her anxiously.

\- He coded for two minutes but we managed to stabilize him. He's condition is delicate but the stabs didn't hit any major organs like I said before to Agent Prentiss. The bigger problem was the blood loss but we've already made the necessary transfusions and he must be stable from now. We decrease the dose of the medication and he should wake up in a few hours. Excuse me.

She left and everyone let out a breath of relieve. Dave turned to Emily, seeing that she was calmer.

\- Emily, what a hell happened with him? – She took a deep breath before start to tell everything:

\- I was at Dr. Barton's house with Reid going through his medical reports when I saw that it was too much and we needed more help. I decide to go over Hotch's once he wasn't answering his phone. When I got there I knock on his door but he didn't answer. I called him and could hear his cellphone ringing inside the apartment. When I turn the knob the door was unlocked and I got in. There was blood and glass on the floor and a hole of a .44 on the wall. – She took another breath to control her nerves for remember everything. – Then I called Garcia and she started to look in hospitals for him. She found a John Doe left by an Agent Derek Morgan here. So I came to check and found him. I couldn't tell you guys because you were working and needed to be focus. I only tell Reid because he was waiting for me.

\- Foyet… - Dave said after a few seconds.

\- Yeah, he stabbed him nine times, avoiding major organs just to show him he was in control, that he has Hotch's life in his hands. That son of a bitch left him here anonymously so we couldn't find him fast and get and leads to him.

They stood there, talking about the case and analyzing where the reaper could be when Emily saw his eyes fluttering.

\- He's waking up.

The team gathered around his bed waiting for him to get conscious. Emily couldn't help to let out a little smile by seeing him open his eyes.

\- Where am I?

\- At the hospital.

\- How did I get here?

\- Foyet drove you.

\- What did he take?

\- What do you mean?

\- He always takes something from his victims. Do we know what he took?

\- There was a missing page from your address book, in the B's section.

\- What did he leave?

\- I don't know. Nothing seemed out of place.

\- Where are my clothes? – Emily took his clothes' bag and handed him. He took his badge out of an envelope and his face went blank. – Haley's maiden name is Brooks. I always list her at B's in my personal stuff, in case it ends in wrong hands. He knows where they live.

The team quickly moved, going towards the exit to leave to Hotch's old house. Dave stopped for a second, looking at Emily and seeing that she wasn't going with them.

\- I'm not going anywhere Rossi.

He nodded once, knowing better than argument with her.

Emily stood there, sit at the visitor's chair beside his bed, watching him look at the photo of Haley and Jack, anxious for news from the team. She kept looking at him, analyzing his face, knowing very well that he probably didn't even acknowledge her presence in the room. She could see how much he still loved Haley. How much he missed his life with her. How much he cared about her and couldn't prevent her heart from break just a little.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing, what managed to take Hotch's attention too. She answered, hearing Dave say that both Hotchners were safe.

\- They're safe. – She said, seeing the relieved look on his face. It was the only contact between the two of them before he proceed to ignore her again. She still stood there; sit, in silence, just drinking his presence, trying to convince herself that he was ok, that he was alive.

The team got back with Haley and Jack and she left the room for the family talk. She went to an empty hall and slide down the wall, sitting on the cold floor, feeling the rush of emotions running through her body, the fear, the love, the need, the anxious, the anger, everything burning her from inside out, bringing tears in her eyes and making her breath became elaborate.

She felt a presence near and looked up to see Dave watching her with a worried face.

\- Are you ok?

\- No. – She whispered, looking down. He sat beside her, taking her hand. That broke her. She sobbed again, her head dropping on his shoulder while he stayed quiet, just trying to comfort her with his presence. After a few minutes her sobs subsided and he waited for her to talk. – How he'll get over this Dave?

\- He's going to need us.

\- Is he going to let us in?

\- Even if he doesn't, we have to stay by his side. He's going to need it. Even if he doesn't admit it.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again.

\- I thought he was death. – She whispered. – There was so much blood and that hole… And then I found him here. And saw him coded. And… - She stopped, unable to continue to remember everything.

\- You love him don't you?

She stayed in silence for almost a minute before speaking:

\- I'm really stupid right. That's just so classic. Falling in love with the boss.

\- I don't think you're stupid. You're in love. You don't choose. It just happens.

\- Yeah. But it's not like anything is going to happen.

\- Why not? You're both single, the frat rules are not made on stone.

\- But he'll never look at me like this Dave. He still loves her. And I think he'll always love her.

\- Of course he will, Emily. She is the mother of his child. He will always love her. But that's different from being in love with her.

\- Can we not talk about this? Please Dave. I can't deal with this right now. – She looked at him with pleading eyes.

\- Ok cara. C'mon. Let's get back there.

They went back to the room and found the rest of the team talking.

\- The Marshal's already took Haley and Jack in custody. – Morgan said.

\- Ok, I think it's the best if we all go home, get some rest. Hotch needs to rest too. – Dave said and everyone, except from Emily, started to get ready to leave.

\- I think I'm gonna stay a little bit more.

\- Are you sure Em? – Asked JJ.

\- Yeah, you guys can go. – She looked at Rossi and he gave her a knowing nod before leave. After all the team left she turned around to see Hotch looking at her with an unreadable face.

\- You should go too. I don't need you to stay here.

His words hurt like knife and she has to fight the urge to cry again.

\- I know sir. I'm just staying for a little bit. Until you fall asleep. – She said with a small voice without looking at his eyes.

\- It's not necessary Prentiss. Go home. I've got a lot of nurses and doctors here to help me with anything. – He said, his tone commanding, leaving no room for arguments. She could only nod and take her purse and coat, murmuring a goodbye to him without looking up.

She knew that she couldn't go home. She couldn't sleep without risking relieving everything again, seeing him cod again, or even worse giving the possibilities of the nightmares.

So she decided to stay. Not in his room, but at the cafeteria of the hospital. She ordered a cup of coffee; chose a table at the corner and sat. She prepared herself for what was to about to come, to learn to deal with her feeling and the most important: to know how to help the man she loved, protecting her heart in the process.

 **A/N: See the review button over there? Give him a little click and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I really hope you're liking this story. Here is the second chapter. I'm jus advising that we'll have a lot of angst and drama before we see some action between Hotch and Emily. Sooo, prepare your tissues!**

 **Disclaimer at Chp01.**

Chapter 2

 _She knew something was off when she heard the incessant ring of his phone inside the apartment. She turned the knob, finding the door unlocked and got in, sensing the worse. She only took a few steps inside when she saw. His feet at the corner of the room, showing from behind the dinner table. She approached with a clench on her chest and saw him unconscious on the floor, covered in blood._

 _She knelt down beside him and tried to find a pulse. She found none. The tightness on her chest increased and she let out a sob._

\- _Hotch! Hotch please, don't do this. You have to wake up. Hotch! – She cried, calling his name over and over again, trying to get some reaction. But there was none. He was gone, cold and pale. She stood there, sobbing incontrollable, covered on his blood. – No, no, no, no, no, please, please Hotch, wake up! Hotch!_

She woke up with a startle and felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up she saw a nurse looking at her worried.

\- Are you ok ma'am?

\- Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, it was just a nightmare.

\- That's ok. I understand. Your friends are in your boss's room. You stayed here all night?

\- Yes, but please, don't tell anyone, especially my boss. – She looked at the nurse with big wide eyes. Seeing her stress the nurse smiled a little and nodded.

\- Of course, I won't tell anything.

\- Thank you. Everything is ok with him, there was any change?

\- No, no. He is fine. He's supposed to be released tomorrow.

\- Good, that's good. I'm gonna go. Thanks.

She went to the parking lot, took a new change of clothes and went to the bathroom. After change clothes and freshen up she went towards the hospital room where her team was.

The team gathered around Hotch's bed, talking when JJ spoke:

\- Have anyone seen Emily?

\- I told her to leave not long after you guys left. – Said Hotch with a neutral tone. Dave looked at him with sad eyes, knowing very well the tone he must have used with the brunette agent.

\- I thought she would be here by now, maybe she overslept. – Said Morgan.

\- I'm here. – Came the soft voice from the door.

\- Geez Em, you look awful. Did you sleep at all? – Said JJ with a worried tone.

\- Wow, thanks JJ. And yes, I did sleep. – She said, catching Rossi's eyes. He gave her a pointed look, telling her that he didn't believe in her.

\- So, do you know when you'll be leaving here? – Morgan asked Hotch, changing the subject.

\- No, I'm waiting for the doctor.

\- Actually, I spoke with a nurse earlier and she said you'll be released tomorrow, probably. – Emily said, making eye contact with Hotch for the first time. He looked deep in her eyes, as if he was reading every single feeling and thought she had. She quickly dropped her eyes to the floor, avoiding showing too much.

\- Earlier? I thought you had just arrived. – Said JJ. Emily looked startled for a second before answer:

\- I was at the cafeteria. – She simply answered. Dave looked at her again and said.

\- I think I want some coffee too. Could you companion me?

\- Sure.

They left the room with Dave putting a comfort hand on Emily's back, going towards the cafeteria.

\- You stayed here all night, didn't you?

\- I hate you David Rossi. – He let out a laugh.

\- No, you don't. Oh Bella, you should have gone home.

\- I couldn't Dave. I knew that if I went home and slept I would dream with him and would wake up anxious, thinking that he was death. At least here, when the nightmares came I could sneak a look in his room and breathe, knowing that he was still alive.

\- Em, you have to tell him. You can't keep doing this to yourself. It'll only get worse.

\- I can't Dave. He is going through hell right now and the last thing he need is me confessing my love for him. Actually, he doesn't need me at all. He was pretty clear about that last night. – She said the last party with a sad whisper. He sighed, conscious of his friends' stubbornness and wishing the power to help them.

\- I'm so sorry cara. I hope I could do something about it.

\- Yeah, but you can't. And neither me. I just have to get used to it. Learn to deal with. Let's go, before they sent a search party for us.

They returned to Hotch's bedroom just in time to listen the doctor.

\- Well Agent Hotchner, your recovery is better than we expected. I think you'll be able to leave at the end of the day. You'll just have to come back to do some tests and remove the stiches next week. And also, you can't stay alone. You either have someone at your house or stay with someone, at least until the stiches are gone.

\- I was actually thinking about that. It's not good that you stay at your apartment alone Aaron. At you apartment at all I would say. – Said Dave. – Unfortunately my house is in reforms and it's not good for your recovery.

\- Mine is reforming too, sorry man. – Said Morgan.

\- I only have a couch. – Reid spoke.

\- We don't have a guest room, and with Henry I don't think it would be the ideal environment for an injured.

\- Guys, I really appreciate but it is ok.

\- I have a room. – Emily spoke with a small voice, without looking at Hotch.

\- I already said it's not necessary Prentiss. I don't need a babysitter. – He said with a stern tone, not missing the way she flinched a little, making him feel bad for his sharpness.

\- It is necessary Agent Hotchner. You'll need help with the most domestic things like getting stuffs in the refrigerator, doing the dishes and etc. I think you should take your friends offer and appreciate that you have such good friends. – The doctor spoke severely. – I'll pass by the end of the day to release you. Now, if you excuse me…

\- It's decided. You'll stay with Emily, at least until next week. – Dave said, looking a Hotch with a look that said he shouldn't make any arguments. Emily stood quiet, waiting for what her boss would say. She knew it would be even harder to deal with her feelings living with him but she just couldn't deny help when apparently she was the only one available.

\- Fine. Thank you Prentiss. – Hotch said with a resigned voice.

\- No problem, sir. – She said. – I'm gonna head home. I need to arrange some things.

\- There is no need to bother Prentiss.

\- That's ok, I'll be back later. – She said leaving. Morgan, JJ, Reid and Garcia decided to go the cafeteria to eat something and get coffee, leaving Rossi alone with Hotch.

\- You know, you should try to be a little more gentle and grateful with _Emily._ – He started, emphasizing her first name. – She was the one who drop everything in the middle of a case to go after you. She was the one who found you apartment full of your blood and with a .44 hole in the wall. She was the one who moved every resource available to find you. She was the one who stood by your side for several hours without food or rest. She was the one who offered to stay again with you, to keep you company only for you to shove her out of here. And now, she is the one who is reorganizing every square meter from her house to receive you, with all the comfort you don't deserve. I think you should cut her some slack and start to treat her right, because she didn't do anything to you and doesn't deserve to be treated like shit. You should learn to appreciate everything you had, even in the worse moments, and that includes the family you had here, with your team.

Hotch just remained in silence, listening to him and knowing that he was right. He just give Rossi a nod and closed his eyes, thinking about everything that had happened, thinking about his son who was only God knows where and wondering how the hell he was supposed to go through this.

At 5pm Emily was wheeling a very unhappy Hotch through the doors of the hospital.

\- It's totally unnecessary this wheel chair. – He huffed.

\- It's just the procedure sir.

\- But I can walk. That's just ridiculous.

She just remained in silence reaching in her car. She helped him to get in, careful to not demonstrate too much care to not make him uncomfortable. She got in the driver's seat and started the engine, pulling the car towards her apartment.

Parking in front of her building she got off the car and went to grab their bags in the back seat. Earlier Dave had gone to Hotch's to get a bag with clothes and personal stuffs for the first few days. She leaded him through the hall into the elevators. Arriving at her floor she went, still in silence, opened the door and let him in. She directed him towards the spare bedroom.

He noticed the new sheets in the bed, that smell of lavender, indicating that she had cleaned recently. There was a curtain on the window and an armchair on the corner, with a little table by the side. The full size bed was covered with light blue sheets and a couple of pillows with white cases. A dark blue blanket was folded up at the foot of the bed. At the bedside table there was a small lamp and a few books.

\- There is a small closet over there where you can hang your clothes if you want. And that is the bathroom. It's just a shower but at the end of the hall there is one that has a bathtub if you're interested. My room is right after the bathroom, fell free to knock and ask if you need anything. – She said, a little awkwardly. When he didn't say anything she sighed and turned to leave. – Well, I'm gonna let you get comfortable. I think I'm gonna take a shower and then see something for us to eat.

The thoughts were racing at Hotch's mind. He knew he'd been a jackass with her ever since he woke up and here she was, giving him a very good bedroom, all cleaned and saying that she would make him dinner. _She deserves at least a thank you, don't you think?_ When she was almost at the door she her him calls her name.

\- Emily…

Emily. _Emily._ That made her froze in spot. She really didn't remember of him calling her for her first name ever. Slowly she turned, with a stunned face, and looked at him.

He winced inwardly. He could avoid but feeling a little stung on his chest. It's just her name. Why he always kept her at such arms-length? She'd never done anything against him. Quite the opposite. She gave up her job to protect his career. She had taken care of every one of his agents every time it was necessary. She had taken care of him after the explosion in New York. She had been the one who found him and stood by him like Dave very well mentioned. So, why the simple fact of him calling her Emily was such a big deal? _Because you are an asshole, Aaron._

\- Thank you. For everything. – He said. And right then she felt her heart melt for him. Trying to remain her composure she smiled a little and said.

\- No problem sir. I'll be at the end of the hall.

\- Ok…

She went to her room with her heart racing. _You're really pathetic, Prentiss. He treated you like shit since he woke up and just because he called you by YOUR NAME you're all worked up._ Damn. She was really screwed.

 **A/N: Please, leave a review. It really make all diference at this writing process.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey guys. I'd like to thank you all for the reviews, they really helped me to improve this story. I just wanted to clarify one thing. As I already said before, I'm not american, I'm brazilian, so our way of writing is diferent from what you guys are used to. We usually don't use quotations in dialogues and that's why I didn't use it here. But since you guys may having difficulty to follow the story with the dialogues I'll try to get used to it and start using them ok? As I said, your reviews help me to get this better, in every ways. Thank you for all the inputs and compliments. Here is Chapter 3!**

Chapter 3

After taking a quick shower Emily put some sweatpants and a loose FBI shirt and went to the kitchen. Earlier that day she had gone to the grocery store to pick some things to supply her fridge, knowing that Hotch would need real food in his recovery and not just the take outs she was used to.

Luckily she was really good at the kitchen and actually enjoyed cooking. She picked some breast chicken to make some chicken parmesan. She also made a salad with vegetables. When she was finishing Hotch came from his bedroom.

He smelled the food from the corridor and went towards the kitchen. He stopped at the door frame and looked at her. He never thought he could connect her with domesticity but seeing her there, so comfortable and free he couldn't help but smile.

"I'd never take you as a cook Prentiss."

She startled a little with his voice. Taking a deep breathe she turned to look at him.

"You obviously don't know everything about me Hotch". She said with a small smile. "I actually like to cook. Very much. It's just that usually I don't have time or motivation to do it often. It's not very nice to cook like this just for myself."

"I understand. And I'm glad to serve for something". He replied with a tight smile. "But you don't have to bother with this every day".

"I talked to you doctor, she said you needed substance and real food. And it's not any bother. My pots and stove are happy to being used. It's almost ready, can you serve the table? I already put the plates on the bottom shelf. Forks and knives are in the top drawer."

She turned off the stove and arranged the food on platters to put on the table while he put up the plates. She brought a couple of cups and an orange juice, his favorite, and sat on the table. He served her and himself and took the first bite, failing in repress the moan at the explosion of flavors.

"Prentiss, this is incredible!"

She let out an embarrassed laugh and started to eat as well.

"Thank you. It's a family recipe. I hadn't done this for months."

"Well, it's amazing. And this salad too. Don't tell him that but it's so much better than Sean's. And he calls himself a chef."

She laughed at this, serving the juice.

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm not a professional. But thanks."

"Oh I'm telling you. Way much better". He took a sip of the juice before looking at the bottle. "This is my favorite, how did you know?"

"You said once on a case when we we're eating breakfast at the hotel". She said looking down at her food. She almost choked when she felt his hand took hers on the table. She looked at him with wide eyes and saw an odd look on his face.

"Thank you Emily. For everything. I know I've been a lot harsh with you and you don't deserve it, so I'm sorry. Thank you for going after me and finding me, and for staying with me and offering a place for me. Thank you for clean the bedroom and for the food and the juice. I really don't deserve this from you, so thank you."

After his speech Emily found some difficult to find her own voice. After a few seconds of just eye contact she blinked, squeezed his hand a little before pulling back and said.

"You don't need to thank me Hotch, that's what families do". She looked down and continued with a soft voice. "And I know things are not easy for you right now and it won't be easy for a while but you have to know that you're not alone. We're all here, ready to help you. You just have to let us."

She looked up and he held the stare for a few seconds before giving her a nod and a smile. They continued to eat with little chat about nothing important. After they finished he helped her to doing the dishes and cleaning the table. She cleared her throat and looked up at him.

"Well, I think I'm going to bed. Do you need anything else? Is everything ok with you room?"

"Yeah, everything is perfect. I'm just going to take a shower, take my pills and sleep too."

"Ok, good night Hotch". She said, leaving him at the kitchen and going towards her bedroom.

"Good night Prentiss." He said, watching her leave.

He was reading one of the books that she had left at the bedside table when he heard. A single scream coming from the room at the end of the hall. With all the strength he could find he went towards the bedroom, as fast as he could, and turned the knob to find it unlocked. Stepping in the room he found her asleep, twisted at her bed, tangled with the sheets, her brow frowned and tears escaping from her closed eyes. Little whimpers we're still heard and soft cries and unintelligible pleas. Approaching more closely he finally could understand what she was saying.

"No, no, Hotch, please. You have to wake up, please wake up."

He felt a tug on his chest. She was having a nightmare with him. He knew that it must have been hard for her to find his apartment on those conditions and then find him at the hospital. Dave had told him that they had got in right the time he was coding and had found Emily crying outside his room.

He knelt down beside her and gently started to shake her, trying to wake her.

"Emily, wake up. It's just a nightmare."

She continued to cry and plead for him to wake up, to not die on her, to not leave her.

"Emily, wake up." He said with a raised voice and a strong shake on her shoulder. She opened her eyes wide, breathing heavily, trying to control her heart race. "It's ok, it was just a dream."

Apparently she got conscious of what had happened because she straightened herself and wiped her tears, trying to regain some composure.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She said, trying to hide the shakiness on her voice.

"No, I was reading and heard your scream. Are you sure you're ok? You're shaking."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. It was just a dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not. Excuse me." She got off the bed and went to the bathroom. She looked herself in the mirror and gripped tightly the counter, controlling her breathing. She splashed cold water on her face to calm the redness of her tears. When she came back to the bedroom she found him still sitting at the end of her bed, looking at her intensely.

"What you were dreaming about Emily?"

"Hotch, I…" He interrupted her:

"Please Emily. Tell me." She looked at him, breathed heavily and sat beside him.

"You were at the hospital. And you coded. And they couldn't bring you back. I kept calling over and over but you didn't come back." She said with a watery voice, looking down.

"I'm sorry you guys have to pass through this. It was just a dream though. I'm here. They brought me back."

"Yeah, I know. I think it'll just take some time to forget the image of you in that bed, with all those nurses and doctors trying to reanimate you. Or worse, your apartment covered in blood, your blood…" She shivered a little before continue. "I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure you're not interested on listen this."

"It's ok. I understand."

"I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep again. Dreamless hopefully."

"Ok. I'll go back to my room. Good night."

"Night"

The next morning Emily woke up with a smell of coffee, bacon and eggs. She got up and freshened up at the bathroom before going towards the kitchen. She saw Hotch flipping the bacon and then cracking more eggs on a pan.

"How do you like your eggs?" His voice startled her.

"Oh, scrambled is good. You didn't have too though. You can do too much because of your stiches. Let me help you."

"After the dinner last night I thought it would be good make some breakfast. You can take care of the bacon. I think I can do the eggs well. Did you manage to sleep again?"

"A little bit". She said looking down, confirming his suspicious that she didn't sleep at all. Trying to change the subject she said. "Now I'm the one who said I didn't take you as a cook."

"I'm not. Just for breakfast. It was always my meal. Haley did everything else, but if I was home breakfast was mine."

"I see. But I still think that it would be better if you didn't force anything for a while."

"It's just coffee Prentiss. I'm not invalid." He said in a harsh tone that made her flinch.

"Ok, if you're sure. The bacon is ready. I'll set the table." She said with a small voice avoiding eye contact.

They ate breakfast in silence, both aware of the tension between them. She finished her coffee and put her cup on the sink.

"I have to go to the office for a while. You'll be ok? Do you need anything?"

"No, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He said, being careful to not sound to sharp again.

"Ok, I'm going to get ready."

She took a bath and dressed for the day, fixing her hair and make-up before returning to the living room. He was sitting at the couch, looking comfortable, reading a book carefully.

"Feel free to look at my bookshelf and also my DVD's collection. If you want we can go to you place to pick up some of yours too."

"Thanks, but that's not necessary. I've already look at your collections and it has enough to maintain me entertained for a long time.

"Yeah, well, I'm a nerd." She said with an embarrass laugh. "I'll be home by noon, don't worry about lunch, please."

She left before he could say anything. Closing the door behind her she leaned against the wood and sighed. She felt her eyes start to sting and blink a few tears that were trying to escape. She took a deep breath and went towards the elevators. The only thing she could think of was that she really hoped that all of this mess ended up soon.

 **A/N: Please, let a review. Thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is another chapter! I can only say thank you soo soo much for all the views and followers to this story. I'm really enjoying to write this. I had planned for end with ten chapters but I think I'm going to work for more. What do you think?**

 **Disclaimer: Nope.**

Chapter 4

"How is your guest?"

Emily looked up for the file she was working to find Dave's eyes looking at her.

"He is fine. Left him going through my books collection."

"And are you Bella?"

"I don't know Dave. He is… Frustrated."

"He's being mean to you?"

"He is… Yeah. I know that he knows I'm just trying to help but still hurts sometimes."

"What did he do?

"Nothing in particular. Last night I made dinner and it was good, we talked and he thanked me for everything, but this morning he all but lashed at me because I was worried with him doing breakfast and pulling his stiches."

Dave sighed and gave her a sad smile.

"I know it must be hard to deal with Aaron, cara. He's stubborn and not used to being helped as I told you."

"Yeah, I know." She said with a laugh. "I just wished that he could understand that I'm just trying to help him. We all are."

"I understand. You'll stay here all day?"

"No, no, I'm actually leaving already. I still had to take care of the lunch."

"Whoa, you're cooking for Hotch?" Morgan asked, getting into the conversation.

"Yeah, the doctor said he'll need real food instead of take outs so I'm finally giving my kitchen some use."

"You'll spoil Hotch, Em." He said with a laugh.

"It's just food Morgan. I'm not running him baths or giving massages." She said with a huff. "I'm leaving. See you guys tomorrow."

"You won't come back today Emily?"

"No, I'm taking some files and I think I'm gonna work from home."

"Ok, bye Princess."

"Bye Emily, call if you need."

Just as Emily was putting the key in the lock to get in her house her phone rang. Looking at the screen she let out a groan.

"Hello Mother." She said, getting herself inside and dropping the keys at the keychain. She heard her guest coming from the bathroom down the hall and held her breath at the view of her Unit Chief with damp hair, a white t-shirt and sweatpants. He looked at her and she just looked at him dumbfounded, trying to listen at her mother's gabble. "Yes Mother, I'm here."

 _"_ _How are you Emily? It's been so long since our last talk and if I don't call you I don't hear anything from your life."_

"I'm fine Mother. I'm sorry but I've been really busy these past few weeks."

 _"_ _With your work? Or there is a new reason for your lack of free time? A man, maybe?"_

Emily closed her eyes and sighed, already knowing that her mother would manage to get into this topic.

"No Mother, there is no new man in my life taking my time. I'm just busy at work."

" _When will you think of starting a family Emily? You're not getting any younger and I'd like very much of having grandkids before I die."_

She sank on the couch with a groan, resting her head at the backrest and closed her eyes.

"I know, maybe you should have thought of having other children to increase your chances." She said bitterly. "Look, I'm really busy right now. I'll call you later ok?" After saying goodbye to her mother she hung up the phone and groaned again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Hearing a low chuckled and feeling the couch moving beside her she opened her eyes and looked at Hotch.

"I'd take that was the Ambassador." He said with a playful smile.

"Yeah, it's her weekly call to remind me that I'm a loser, alone, old, and probably will never have a husband or kids. At least she didn't try to set me up with some Ambassador's son with a white smile and no scruple or respect."

"You're not old." He said with a frown. "And also not a loser."

"Well, I'm not young anymore Hotch. And a forty-two years old woman who doesn't even have a cat to make her company is pretty close to a loser."

"You're not old. If you're old I'm an ancient. And you just didn't find the right guy."

"I'll never find the right guy. I just manage to attract jerks. I never get the good ones. I just get those who try to cop a feel at first date or invite themselves to come up for 'a cup of coffee', or even better, who said I'm a 4, almost a 5 if he gets drunk enough and I keep my mouth shut. At least to talk." She added with a sarcastic laugh.

Hotch looked stunned at the end of her speech. He shook his head and asked.

"There was a guy that actually did those things to you?"

"Ohh Hotch. If it was a guy. Unfortunately they were different guys in each moment. And I'm just telling you the worst cases."

"Wow. Just… wow."

"Yeah, that's my pathetic life." She got off the couch and started to go towards her bedroom. "I'm going to change in something more comfortable. I'll start the lunch in a minute."

He watched her leave still stunned at what she said. He was aware of her lack of love life but really didn't think that it was that bad. He knew that he wasn't indifferent to his brunette subordinate, he just never allowed himself to think about any further. But he also knew that she was a very attractive woman and could believe that any man could say those things to her. Feeling that he was starting to think too much about it, he shook his head and got off the couch trying to erase those thoughts about Emily.

After lunch, Emily went to her office to work on some files. Hotch was at the living room, devouring another of her books. She dropped her pen at the table and rubbed her temple. She had got almost none sleep the night before after her nightmare, afraid that she would dream again.

Actually she was pretty scared that this would become a common occurrence. She has aware of her predisposition to have nightmares after a case. Sometimes they would hunt her for weeks before go away. And with the emotional factor of this trigger she knew that it would take some time before she'll be able to sleep a full night without having dreams about his death.

By 7pm they ate some mac and cheese she decided to made for them. They talked a little about work and books and movies. They even talked about her relationship with her mother, because of her previous phone call. After that they went to their rooms get ready to sleep, Emily sending prayers to God to get through the night without any dreams or at least without wake up her guest with her screams.

Of course, she wasn't that lucky.

She woke up with a jerk, her breathing elaborated and her heart raced. She felt tears rolling her cheeks and heard a sob escaping from her mouth. She looked at her clock at the bedside table and saw it was a little after 3.

"Are you ok?"

She jumped at the strong voice beside her. She turned around and found Hotch knelt down by her side with a worried face.

"Did I scream again?"

"No. I was going to get a glass of water and I heard you whimpering. Then I came and saw you crying and you woke up. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Another dream?" He asked, sitting by her side on the bed.

"Yeah. It amazes me how our minds can be creative just to torture us." She said with a sad smile.

"What was this time?"

She thought for a few seconds before deciding to tell the truth. He wouldn't let her lie to him anyway.

"I got in your apartment and found you. You were on the floor, and there was so much blood. You were awake but it was like you didn't know I was there. I kept calling your name and trying to contain your bleeding but there were so much stabs and I just couldn't. And then you started to cough and spit blood and I couldn't do anything. You were dying in my arms and I could only stay there, watching. I can even smell your blood in my hands, soaking my jacket."

A single tear rolled of her cheek and he wiped with his thumb.

"Hey, everything is ok Emily. I'm fine." He said looking into her eyes and caressing her cheek.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. It was just a dream. You can go. I'll be fine." She said with an encouraging smile.

"Are you sure you're fine? You'll be able to sleep again?"

"I'm sure. You can go back to bed."

He looked at her for a while. Finally giving in he gave her a nod and went towards the door. Closing behind him, he stood there for a few minutes, listening her sniffles and sobs, feeling guilt for putting her through this and wishing he could do something to make her feel better. After another few minutes he listen her sobs subsid and that she must had cried herself to sleep. Sighing he went to his room to try to get some sleep, thinking that Foyet had managed to affect the lives of everyone around him, and he couldn't want to end this mess.

 **A/N: Pleeeeease, let a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Guys, I can't even begin to explain to you how happy you made me with all your reviews! I'm sorry for all the gramatical errors. Even though my English is pretty good sometimes a let some things slip. I'm sorry. And another thing. I forgot to mention before, but in this story Reid doesn't get shot at the 5x01. Just to clarify his presence at Hotch's room in chapter 2.**

 **So here is the fifth chapter! There is a lot of angst and a biiiig participation of Dave. Hope you'll like it! Let me know!**

Chapter 5

The week passed fast at Prentiss' house. They established a routine. She would go to the BAU every morning, get home by noon and fix something for them eats. She spent the afternoons at her home office working on files. Because of Hotch's attack the team was off rotate for two weeks, what provide her to be home to help Hotch.

Not the he would ask for help. He spent all day reading at the living room or in his bedroom. Their contact was limited to the meals, and she knew that it was just for politeness.

And every night they went to sleep and Emily would dream with him. He covered on blood or lying on the floor dead. He coding at the hospital. There was even a time when she dreamt about finding Foyet stabbing him over and over in front of her and she was tied, unable to help him.

Sometimes she would wake up with him looking at her worried and other times she would wake up alone but aware that he was outside of her room, listening her sobs and sniffles.

They never talked about it the next morning.

She would pretend that she didn't cry herself to sleep every night because of him.

And he would pretend that he didn't listen to her crying over him.

The morning before the day Hotch would remove his stiches Emily was coming out of her room when she heard a curse from his room. She approached his door and heard another curse followed by a grunt.

She knocked the door and called for him:

"Hotch? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine Prentiss." He said harshly. Then she heard him groan and curse again. "Damnit!"

She decided to risk making him mad and opened the door to help him in whatever he was trying to do. She found him trying to tie his sneakers sat at the end of the bed, but couldn't get down to do it and couldn't knelt down either. Apparently he had decided to suspend his meds and was with some pain.

"Let me help you Hotch." She said kneeling in from of him and taking his shoes.

"I don't need your help. I already said I was fine. I'm not a child to have someone tying my shoes." He said, struggling from her hands and getting up. With his roughness to get off of her grip he managed to push her making her fall on the floor. She watched him huff facing the wall, breathing heavily, classic signs of rage. Part of her felt sad for him. She knew he was frustrated, angry with this situation. But part of her couldn't help but feel hurt, deeply, because she was really tired of trying to help him and being treated like shit.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." She said fighting back her tears. _I won't cry in from of this man._

"Well, I don't need it, so save it." He said, turning to look at her. Between his outburst and harshness he didn't even realize that he had actually shoved her on the floor. He immediately frozen, not believing in what he had done and went to try to help her to get up. Unfortunately she must have thought that he was going to continue with his assault because she quickly got off the floor before he could reach for her and went directly to the door without looking back.

"It's ok, I'm sorry sir. I'll leave you alone."

She left and closed the door behind her and went to her bedroom, losing the battle with her tears and started to cry. She stood there for minutes before washing her face and grabbing her things to get out for work. She went to the kitchen, put some coffee at the coffee maker and wrote a note for him before leaving.

He stood paralyzed at the middle of his room looking at the closed door. He couldn't believe in what he had done to her. He was in pain and had passed the whole night tossing around the bed unable to sleep and was cranky and in a bad mood, but that didn't give him the right to treat her like that. _You're just like your father, Aaron._

He thought about everything she was doing to him, making him lunch and dinner every day and doing the laundry and cleaning the apartment all alone. She was giving him space and didn't have asked him about what had happened not even once even though he knew that she was curious. He knew how everything was affecting her sleep and how she cried every night because of him.

He heard the front door closing and sighed. She had gone to work without even say goodbye or wait for breakfast. He got out of his room and went to the kitchen, smelling coffee.

At the corner of the counter he found a note from her:

 _'_ _There is coffee ready at the coffee maker. I'll stay at the office this afternoon for a briefing with the team. There is chicken from yesterday still on the fridge. Just put on the microwave. Don't know how long it'll take the briefing so don't wait for me for dinner. There is enough chicken for that too._

 _Prentiss'_

He felt his eyes sting at the end of her note. He knew very well that this briefing was just an excuse to not come home. And she signed as Prentiss. He closed his eyes and sighed. _You really screwed up Aaron._

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Emily tried to focus on her work but she just kept thinking about Hotch. She couldn't even calculate how much it had hurt the way he treated her this morning. She knew he was frustrated, she knew he was mad and wanted to have his family back and find Foyet. But it didn't make it hurt any less.

She saw a tear dropping in the page in from of her and realized that she was crying again. She wiped her tears, praying that no one had saw anything but looking up at the stairs she saw Rossi looking at her, concerned.

"Emily, would you come up here at my office please."

She sighed and got up, knowing better than ignore her friend. They entered his office and he closed the door, directing her to his couch and sat beside her.

"Ok, what happened?"

"Nothing Dave. I'm just tired I guess. I'm not having too much sleep."

"You know you can't lie to me Emily, nor don't have to."

"Dave, please. I really don't want to talk about it." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Ok, ok. I won't pry. But why you're not sleeping?" He saw her eyes darkened. "Nightmares?"

"Yeah… But it's ok. It's actually getting better." She forced a smile to him. He smiled at her and patted her shoulder.

"Why don't you lie down here a little bit? You need to rest Emily."

She knew that he wouldn't let her go so she just gave him a tight smile and a nod, lying on his couch and closing her eyes, sleeping catching her almost immediately.

Rossi stood there looking at her, his chest tighten at her pain. He grabbed his coat and keys and leave. He had to have a little talk with his friend.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch heard the knock on the door and got off the couch to go get it. Looking through the peephole he closed his eyes and sighed. By the look on his friend's face he had an idea of the reason to his visit. He opened the door and looked at him with sad eyes:

"That bad?"

Rossi huffed and pushed him to get in the apartment.

"What the hell did you do Aaron?"

"What did she said to you?"

"Nothing. For some reason, that you don't deserve by the way, she still wants to protect you. So I'll ask again. What did you do?"

Hotch sighed again and sank into the couch. Rossi took a sit at the chair across him and waited for his explanation.

"I was in a bad mood. I was in pain and couldn't tie my damn shoes. She heard me and got into the bedroom and offered help. She knelt down to tie my shoes but I lashed at her, saying that I didn't need her help for nothing."

Sensing that he was still hiding something Rossi pushed.

"That's not all of it. What else did you do?"

Hotch closed his eyes and said. "When I pushed her away from me I managed to shove her on the floor."

"You what?" Rossi all but shouted. "You know what Aaron, you're an asshole. How could you do this? Isn't enough the verbal assault now you'll start to physically hurt her too? What's next? You're going to slap at her? Push her through a wall?"

"I know Dave.."

"No, you don't! You don't know nothing! All that woman did to you was try to help you! She offered you a place, she cleans you room, you bathroom, she changes your sheets, she does your laundry, she cooks for you, she doesn't bother you with questions, she lets you have your space even though you're living in her house! And every day I see her at the office she is even more sad and tired and exhausted! And rather than at least treat her well and be thankful for everything she's done for you, you just treat her like a piece of garbage! Did you know that she was crying over her files today at the office? Did you know that she drinks at least five cups of coffee every morning so she won't pass out over her desk because she spends the whole night dreaming with your death and crying over you? Do you have any idea of how traumatizing it was for her to watch you almost die at that _fucking_ hospital? Do you even care?"

"Dave…"

"No, you shut up. You're lucky that none of the others had noticed her crying today. Do you know what Morgan would do to you if he found out that you had pushed her? He would have tackled you down like an unsub! And that's what you deserve!" He took a deep breath before continue. "Look Aaron, I know that you're hurting. I can't even begin to understand how you must have feel for being attacked at your own house. I know you miss Jack and I know that you blame yourself for making him go away. But until we found Foyet you can't keep digging yourself into this hole. Because let me tell you something my friend, you're not falling alone. You have a whole team that loves you and cares for you. If you think that this is your problem only you're seriously wrong. What affects you, affects all of us. And rather than fight against us you should use the strength we are offering you to help you get through this."

Hotch closed his eyes and let out a breath. He knew that he had hurt Emily today, and he knew that she didn't deserve any of this. Hell, she probably deserved flowers and chocolates and breakfast in bed every day for everything he was doing for him. He opened his eyes and faced his friend, knowing very well that he deserved every single harsh word he had said to him.

"I know all of that Dave. I just… I was so frustrated and mad. I'm a forty-six year old man and couldn't tie my own shoes because of that son of a bitch. I was furious. And she was there and I slashed at her. I know she doesn't deserve it. Hell, she deserves that I workship the ground she walks on. I'm very aware of everything she has done for me and that I don't deserve it. It's just… I'm stupid."

"Yes, you are. And you better think of a helluva way to make it up to her. I better get going. I left her sleeping on the couch of my office."

"Can you do me a favor? She left a note saying that I shouldn't expect her for dinner. Could make sure she comes home early? I need to apologize to her."

"I'll see what I can do. But I won't let her stay up too late."

"Thank you Dave". He accompanied Rossi at the door and closed it, leaning against the frame, starting to think of how he could make it up to her.

 **A/N: Please, pretty please, let a review. They make my day! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey back! I just wanted to thank you all again for the reviews. I'm having a big problem right now because I have to work, I have millions of papers to look at from my students but I'm addicted to this story! I can't stop writing and I blame you guys! :) Seriously now, this chapter is a little shorter but it's worth it! Here is the talk between Emily and Hotch, and believe me, she'll give him some piece of mind. And here is where he will start to look at her properly too! Sooo, I hope you guys like it!**

Chapter 6

Emily put her key at the lock and got in to her apartment a little after 9pm. She saw the lights at the kitchen and the living room off and let out a breath of relief thinking that Hotch was already in his room. She really didn't want to talk to him right now.

She passed through the hall towards her bedroom when she saw a shadow at the corner of the room. She put a hand in her holster, pulling her gun and clicked the safety off. Aiming at the shadow she said.

"FBI. Don't move".

"Calm down Emily, it's me." She huffed and clicked the safety on again lowering her gun.

"Shit, Hotch. You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing over there in the dark?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was waiting for you. I made dinner."

She closed her eyes. So much for not talking. "I told you didn't have to wait for me." She said with a sigh.

"I know you did, but I wanted. Please? I made some spaghetti and warmed the chicken to complete."

She looked at him and saw his pleading eyes. Even though she was really mad at him right now they still were living together, so ignoring him wasn't an viable option. Closing her eyes and letting a resigned breath she agreed with him.

"Ok. Let me just change into something more comfortable."

"I'll set the table." He went to the kitchen, inwardly celebrating the small step. He knew that he had to actually apologize with her but he wanted to make the dinner as a peace offer. She came out of her bedroom and saw him arranging the plates at the table and serving the spaghetti with the chicken. He sat at the table and she sat across him.

"Thank you. You didn't have to". She said serving herself. He noticed that she was avoiding eye contact at all costs and was really uncomfortable too. He took a deep breath and put down the fork before looking up to her.

"Emily…" He started, trying to take her attention. Seeing that she wasn't' looking at him he took her hand in his. Her head snapped up and she looked at him. "I'm sorry for this morning. And for every time I was stupid and rude with you. You don't deserve to be treated like that. You have done everything to make me feel comfortable here and you had taken care of me in a way that I have never been, not even for my mom or Haley. You don't deserve anything that I have done to you. And today…" He closed his eyes and dropped his head shaking it slightly. "When I pushed you… Emily, I'm so, so sorry. I was just so mad at this situation and I was feeling useless and I took it on you and I'm sorry." He looked at her eyes again. "I promise you that I won't treat you like this again and I will never touch you like that again. If you're not comfortable with me here anymore I understand and I'll leave right now. But even so, I'm sorry. You had no idea how much thankful I am for everything you're doing for me".

She looked at him for a while before say anything. "I don't want you to go, Hotch. I offered you a place because I wanted to help you but I'm tired you know. I keep trying and trying to approach you and give you space at the same time but you keep pushing me away. You keep pushing all of us away. And I don't get why!" She pushed her hand away and started to raise her voice. "I get that you're tired and angry that your life has changed because of this mess, and I get that you want your son and your wife back, and I get that you want to take this son of a bitch down but guess what? You're not the only one, Aaron!" She stood up and started to pace around the table, seeing his eyes widening at the use of his first name and the tone she was using. "I want to put a bullet between his eyes as much as you do! Do you think it didn't affect me finding your apartment covered on your blood? Do you have any idea of what was going through my mind before I found you!? I thought I was never going to see you again! I thought you were death, that it was it! And then when I found you, hear the doctor say that it was a fucking miracle you had survived… God!" He saw tears pricking into her eyes and she took a deep breath before continue with a lower voice. "All we want to do is help you get through this. Help you get this bastard and have your family back. But all you do is close yourself off and keep feeling sorry for yourself! I don't even know who you are! The Aaron Hotchner I know and respect would be working on Foyet's profile and not spending the days just mourning and looking like a statue in my living room. And I'm not saying that you should become obsessed with him, but if you just tried and ask for help you could be a lot closer to find him. Did you know that we are briefing about him at least two times a week?"

He looked at her dumbfounded for a few seconds. "No… I didn't know." He said with a small voice.

"Well, we are. And Garcia is tracking him down nonstop. We're trying and you should be trying with us! Damnit Hotch, is like you resigned. The Aaron Hotchner I know would never do this. And he would never treat his team like crap. And he would never mistreat me. You're not the man I knew anymore. He can be broken. He is the strongest person I know. And I want him back". She said and left towards her bedroom.

He stayed sit and the table for a few minutes letting her words sink. He knew she was right. He thought about everything she said, how the team was working to help him while he was just sitting all day feeling sorry for himself. He had to change that. He had to start to fight to have his life back. He missed his son. He remembered what she said. _I know you want your wife back_. He wanted Haley back? Of course, he knew it wasn't fair to ruin her life like that. But did he want her back _to him_? Surprisingly, no. He didn't want her back to him. She wasn't the woman he wanted by his side for a long time. He looked at the hall to the bedrooms. He wanted a woman who could help him through his darkened times, who could understand him and be by his side in every moment.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that she was gorgeous. He knew she was funny, and caring, and that she could really accept him for who he is. _You're her boss._ His mind screamed at him. But honestly, after almost die and seeing everything she was doing to him. _And I want him back._ He closed his eyes. Maybe, just maybe he could let himself to rely in someone.

But first, he had to stop being so stupid and begin to treat her like she really deserved. He looked at the table and the untouched food. Sighing he stood up and cleaned everything. Going towards his bedroom he looked at her closed door for a moment. It was enough for tonight.

Tomorrow he would change some things.

He would hunt that son of bitch down.

He would get his son back.

And he would stop to wasting time and finding excuses to be happy.

He would start to valorize his team. His family.

Starting with the brunette down the hall.

 **A/N: I'm sorry for the gramatical errors. Let a review, pretty please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! I know I normally post everyday but with the semester starting over here I had a lot of work to do and the updates will take a little longer. I'll try to keep posting every two or three days. But I promise I'm not going to abandon this fic. This is the morning after they discussion, with Hotch trying to do some amends. We have a little drama with a lot of Hotch's pov. Hope you guys like it! Next chapter he'll be back to work.**

 **Disclaimer on Chapter 1.**

Chapter 7

The next morning Emily woke up by 6 with a smell of coffee with pancakes. She got off the bed and went to her bathroom to brush her hair and teeth. Arriving the kitchen, she found Hotch finishing breakfast, already showered and dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt. She breathed heavily and closed her eyes. After her outburst yesterday how they were going to act? She knew she said some things that should never be said to her boss. But at the moment she only saw red. She was so mad and frustrated that the words just came out without her allow it.

And now there was this awkward environment and she didn't know how to react.

He sensed her presence at the doorway and took a deep breath and turned to greet her. He knew he had to change his behavior towards her and he was going to start now.

"Good morning. I made breakfast." He put the pancakes at the table and served the coffee. He saw how uncomfortable she was and chose to go with a neutral ground before touch the last night's discussion. "I had to go to the hospital today, to remove my stiches."

"Thank you." She said taking a pancake and a cup of coffee. "Yeah, I know. I already spoke to Dave yesterday; he gave me the day off to go with you".

Another slap on his face. God, why he had to be such an asshole? "Thank you Emily". He said with a sigh.

"No problem. We can go to your place to pick some clothes too. I did the laundry but Dave only sent sweatpants and t-shirts and these jeans you are wearing. You may want pick some more now that the stiches will be off and when you'll be cleared to drive". At each word he felt his chest contracting and tightening. She was killing him! "And I also saw that your toiletries are ending and we could stop to buy some too…"

"Emily…" She stopped and looked at him. He sighed, stood up and knelt in front of her, taking both of her hands in his. "Emily, I wanted to thank you. For everything you said to me last night."

"No, Hotch. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything to you. I have no right to judge you…" He interrupted her before she continued.

"Yes you should and yes you have. You made me realize what an ass I have been these weeks and I needed that. You were right. You are right. I need to stop staying at home, catatonic, without doing anything to find Foyet. I didn't even know you guys were working on him and I can't begin to tell you how much this means to me. And you were right when you said I wasn't acting like myself. I let him affect me and get inside of me, change me. And you, by just being beside me every day took the most of it. So, I'm sorry again. For everything I said to you. And thank you for making me see this, for not giving up on me. I certainly don't deserve but thank you".

"Yes, you deserve it. Like I said last night, you were just not being you. But you deserve it. And none of us are going to leave you. _I'm_ not going to leave you."

He looked at her intensely and gave her a small smile. She reciprocated and squeezed his hand. "Thank you Emily. And I'm back."

"I'm glad. Now let's finish breakfast so we can leave." He nodded and surprised her by giving her a light kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah, let's hurry up". He said with a smile. The first step was done and he had high hopes that things would get a little better from now on.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

After Hotch removed the stiches and did some tests the doctor said he should stay another ten days out of work before return, first just on the office or in the precinct if they were on a case and then, after another ten days, do another tests to clear him for full job.

They went to his apartment to get a new bag with clothes and some of this other things and then stopped to buy his toiletries, food and other things to the house. They decided to have lunch at a small restaurant nearby her apartment and spent all the time talking about work, what they found about Foyet's profile and other little things about themselves.

At the end of the day they were both at the living room, eating Chinese they had ordered and watching some old movie on TV when Hotch looked at Emily. She was laughing at something the characters had said on the movie, her eyes were sparkling and he couldn't help but stare her. God, she was beautiful. He turned to the TV again, to avoid being caught by her.

He thought about their day, how she had helped him at the hospital and everything. They really had a good day and things seemed to be changed. She still appeared to not trust him one hundred percent. Or at least not trust the he wasn't going to slash at her anytime. But he knew they had moved thing forward and he was determined to keep moving things on this direction.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Two days before Hotch be able to return to the office he was sitting at the couch, looking through some files of Foyet's case that Emily had brought to him. He was waiting her for dinner. With the team getting back to normal routine Emily spent the whole day at the office, leaving food precooked on the fridge for him and managing to go home for lunch sometimes.

He heard the key on the lock on the front door and smiled. She had managed to get home early that day.

"Hey, I'm home."

"Hey. You're early…" He said, looking at his watch.

"Yeah. I just came to get my go bag. We have a case in Texas and we're leaving in one hour."

"Oh…" He said. She knew that he was upset to be let behind on a case.

"Just one more case. Then you can come back to work and I won't be leaving without you".

"What is the case?"

"Three bodies were found with their arms and legs broken and a burn mark at the left cheek. They were found within 2 weeks of difference and a woman is missing since yesterday. She fits the victimology." She said while packing her bag. He stood at the doorframe of her bedroom looking at her.

"And what it's the victimology?" She looked at him with an exasperated face. "C'mon, it's not like I'll be helping with something. I'm just curious. And I'm almost cleared to work".

"Fine. All brunettes, pretty, at their late thirties and early forties, fair skin, brown eyes and fit."

 _Uh._ He looked at her with a frowny face. "So, they're basically you?"

"What?" She looked at him, confused.

"Like you said, brunette, pretty, fair skin, brown eyes, in good shape, you're describing yourself Emily".

She seemed to think for a while and then sighed. "Yeah, ok. But that means nothing. We all fit the victimology once in a while." She said getting her bag and passing through him out of the bedroom. "Anyway, I have to go. There is still food at the fridge and I did the laundry and changed your sheets yesterday so it'll not be a problem. The way he is leaving leads behind I think we won't take too much time to get him so I'll be home soon, ok?" She said at the front door turning to look at him.

He approached her and put a hand on her elbow holding her in place. "Please be careful Emily. I do not like this case with you so close to the victims."

"I'll be fine, I promise." She assured him. He gave her a nod and pulled her into a hug. They didn't were touchy usually but since his apology he made sure that there were a few hugs and holding hands, even a couple of kisses on her forehead. He released her and she gave him a smile before leave. He stood a few moments looking at the closed door, wishing more than ever that he would be with her on this case. He could only hope that she would come back home at one piece.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It took them three days to catch the unsub. Three days, a concussion and a cut on the forehead to Emily. As she approached her front door she took a deep breath. _He is going to freak out._

She entered the apartment and heard the sound of the TV on her living room. He was watching the news and greeted her without turn around.

"Hey, you're home. How was the case?" He put the TV on mute and got up to look at her. When he saw her with a bandage on the head his eyes widened and he asked worried. "What a hell happened to you?"

She winced before answer. "Well, we had apprehended the bastard and I said that I should do the interrogation because I had more chances to break him. And I did. But he was so pissed that he managed free himself and push my head at the table before Morgan got in to stop him".

"Shit! Are you ok? Did it take stiches?" He said taking her face in his hands to look at her wound.

"No, no, just a slight concussion and a headache".

"Damnit Emily. I told you to be careful". He said with a huff and put her into his arms. "You have to wake up every two hours?"

"I know. I'm sorry. Yeah, the paramedics said that I shouldn't be alone."

"Well, you're not. I'll wake you up".

"There is no need Hotch. You know they say those things but we never follow."

"I don't care. I'll wake you up every two hours." He said leaving no room for arguments. "Did you eat something?"

"No, I'm not really hungry."

"But you have to eat. You go take a nice bath and I'll do some blueberry pancakes to you. It's not real dinner but at least you'll eat something."

"Hotch…" She started to deny but he shook his head.

"Go. I'm starting the pancakes."

After eating the pancakes, Emily went towards her bedroom, sensing Hotch following her closely. She stopped at the doorframe and turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"So… Are you going to get in the bed with me or what?"

He shot her a look. "No, smartass. I'm tucking you into bed and then I'm going to my room. But I'll be back to wake you up now and then."

"Hotch, really… It was just a small concussion. There's no need…"

"I don't care Emily. Now go to bed." He shoved her into the room and helped her to get into the sheets. Leaning in he kissed her forehead and gave her good night, before leaving to his room.

Two and a half hours later he was knelt down at the side of her bed, gently shaking her. "Emily… You have to wake up." She groaned and he bit back a smile. "C'mon, open your eyes." She did and found his own black eyes looking at her. The corners of his mouth were slight curved upwards and he spoke softly brushing her hair. "There you are. You have to stay awake for a couple of minutes ok?"

"Ok…" She said with a sleepy voice. "Did you sleep at all?"

"A little bit. Are you in pain?"

"No… I took the pills before sleep." She answered with a yawn.

"Ok, you can go back to sleep now." He smirked at her sleepy smile and watched her fall asleep again. He stood at the foot of her bed, watching her sleep for a few minutes. He really didn't know when or how she had become so essential to him. He started to admire her after she quit to not betraying him when Strauss asked. He saw her grown as an agent and as a woman. He always knew that she was an attractive woman, just never allowed himself to think about it. But looking at her like this, so fragile and small… He wanted nothing more than get into the bed with her and hold her, take all her pain and her fears away. He thought about everything she had done for him. He thought about everything he knew about her. He thought about everything he wanted to know about her. Closing his eyes he sighed. Somewhere along the way he let her break through all his barriers and get into his mind and his heart.

But did she deserve to get involved with someone so broken? Suddenly all the resolve he had made days prior were replaced by his doubts about himself. He had already lost Haley, hurt her and put his job above his family. Could he risk hurting another woman? Did she even think about him this way? Maybe she was just too good for him. Maybe she didn't deserve a man damaged like him. He had proved already that he could hurt her and mistreat her when he was on his bad moods. Why to risk to increase this suffer? For a chance to happiness? Maybe he wasn't bond to be happy.

Looking at her sleeping Hotch knew that he couldn't bring her into his mess. At least not before fix some of the damage he had inflicted on his soul. Not without know for sure that he was capable of make her happy. And not before find Foyet and bring his son and Haley back. Otherwise he was just putting another possible victim on his hands. Not that living with her all this time hadn't already made her one. God! He sat at the armchair across her bed. He had to protect her, clean all this crap he had being put on and bring his family back. Only then he could think of trying to work on his own happiness. If he was lucky enough, with the beautiful brunette lying on that bed.

 **A/N: Wow, that was long! I hope I have compensate the delay. Let a review, please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! This chapter marks Hotch's return to work and the 5x02. It's basically a little more thoughts of Emily and Hotch about their feelings for each other. I'll probably be posting the next one by friday. It'll be based on the episodes preceding the 5x09 (100). Just one more until the end of Foyet. I'm just warning you, I've changed a LOOT the events of "100", because of my intention to this story. So, you guys are still liking this? I'd really like a review to know if I should keep writing.**

Chapter 8

The first case after Hotch's return proved to be very intense for the whole team. With the time pressure and the lack of leads to the unsub Hotch seemed to be closer and closer to the edge every minute. After snapping with Garcia, a few deputies and even Emily and Dave, he thrown himself into a house were the unsub was holding a child as hostage, without a vest or gun and standing right in front of the snippers that were waiting for a clear shot.

When the boy was released and a gunshot was heard the team raced towards the house, fearing the worse, just to find the unsub's father dead and Hotch cuffing him. Emily let out a breath seeing that he was ok, but deeply she knew that it was just the outside. Inside he was struggling and finding excuses to blame himself for everything.

The team arrived to the BAU to finish their reports before heading home. Hotch locked himself into his office and sank on his chair, burying his face on his hands. He was conscious that he had screwed up with his team. But with the adrenaline of the job again and dealing with unsubs he could only remember of Foyet and his case with all the mistakes he had done and that leaded to the delay on arresting him and his escape.

He looked down at the bullpen and sighed. Watching his team working he knew that he had to pull himself together before he could cause some serious damage on the dynamic of their work and even hurt them more.

Looking at Emily he felt tightness on his chest. He had a thought on his mind ever since they left her apartment to work and he knew for sure that she wouldn't like it. He saw her sign her last file and stand up to head to his office. She knocked on the door and he told her to come in.

"Hey, I finished my reports. Do you think you're going take how much longer?" She said, handing him her files.

"Actually, I was thinking… I think I'm going back to my apartment". He saw her face fell.

"Oh…" It was the only thing she could manage it. She knew that someday he would go back to his place but she didn't think it will be so soon. "Are you sure? You know you don't have to hurry". She said, pathetically.

"Yeah, I think it's for the best. I'm pretty sure that Foyet is watching me and I don't want you to become a target to him." Seeing her frowning at him he quickly added. "I know that you're not afraid of him and I know that you can take care of yourself but I know what he is capable of and, no offense, but I'm stronger than you and look what he did to me".

"Don't you think that I'm already a target Hotch? I mean, as you were saying, he's probably watching you since the attack and if he is, he's going to know that I was the one who when after you, I was the one who found you and only left the hospital to go arrange my apartment for you, and then took you home and we're living together for what, four, five weeks?"

"I know, but…"

"There's not but Hotch. It's the truth and you know it. If you leave right now and he already sees me as a target don't you think he'll come after me, providing that I'm alone? As you so well pointed, I'm not as much stronger as you and God knows what he could do with me. I think between the two of us and our three weapons we can watch each other's back and we have more chance against him, don't we?

He looked at her for a minute, absorbing her words and trying to find an argument against her logic. He found none. She was right. If Foyet was watching him he already saw Emily's spot on his life and knew that she was important to him. However, one thing she said had confused him. "What did you mean when you said that you only left the hospital to arrange the house? I sent you home to sleep."

She slapped herself inwardly. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Her eyes widened for a slip of second before she dropped her head down. "Yeah, I meant to say that".

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Emily… Did you go home to sleep that night?"

"Of course I did." She said quickly.

Seeing that she was still avoiding eye contact he pushed. "Emily…"

Sighing defeated she looked at him. "Ok… I stayed at the cafeteria".

"Why did you do that Emily? I told you that you could go home to rest."

"I couldn't ok?! I knew that if I went home I was going to dream with you and stay at home trying to convince myself that you were still alive. At least at the hospital I could sneak a look at your room and calm myself."

He kept looking at her for a moment before asking a little softer. "And you slept on a table at the cafeteria? Why didn't you stay at the visitor's chair in my room?"

She actually snorted. "You're kidding right? How was I supposed to stay in your room when you all but shoved me out? I didn't really have a choice Hotch"

He winced. He deserved that. "I know. I'm sorry."

"So… you're still leaving?" She asked.

He closed his eyes, sighing. "No, I think you're right. We having each other's backs it's our better chance."

"Good. Now, can we go home? I'm kind of hungry"

He looked at his paperwork before closing the file. "Yeah. I think I could use some food." He stood up and grabbed his briefcase following her out of his office. While they were waiting for the elevators he touched her elbow, making her look at him. "I'm sorry for snapping at you on this case. I think I need to work on my temper to not do some serious damage on the team."

"Don't worry" She said with a small smile. "Although it would be good if you didn't rip the LEO's heads off or mistreated Garcia. I think Morgan really wanted to punch you when you talked to her like that".

"And I'd probably deserve it. I own an apology to her."

"You do." They got into the elevator and push the button to the parking garage. "So, there's this amazing French restaurant that JJ took me once. Wanna try it?"

He felt warmth on his chest at the thought of going on a dinner with her. If only was for the right reason. "Sure. My treat."

They went towards her car and drive off. He asked to drive since she had driven the ride to the work. He parked near the restaurant and got off, going to her door to held open for her. They entered the place and found a table by the window. After making the orders they started to talk about the case.

"Do you think Call will be ok?"

He sighed. "I don't know".

"He got his answers. Killed the man who hunted him."

"And what else is there?"

"The years for torture"

"Do you think he'll get over that?" By this point they both knew they weren't talking about Call anymore.

"How could he? But at least he doesn't have to feel like he's alone anymore"

"But he doesn't have anyone"

She looked at him straight to his eyes. "He has Tommy. He's not alone" _You're not alone._ They knew it was what she really meant

They stood in silence for a few minutes before the food arrived. Occupying themselves with the food they kept thinking about everything that had happened, how their lives had changed in such a little among of time and how they're supposed to get back the normality after everything was solved.

To Emily, she kept just reminding herself that she had to protect herself, not from Foyet or Hotch, but from her own stupidity tendency to give too much. She realized every single day how much she was digging herself into a hole by exposing her heart and soul to Hotch, knowing that she would never get anything in return. Every day she saw him struggling and hurting for missing his family and she knew that after this he would do anything to get them back because this was the type of situation that makes you think about every aspect of your life and she knew that he missed terribly his life with Haley and Jack. And when he got them back she would be alone again, stuck into this feeling that she was nourishing because of her idiocy.

To Hotch, he could just try to figure it out the nature of his feelings. Every day he found himself more dragged into Emily and her kindness and her ability to make everything seems better. He knew he shouldn't be relying on her. It wasn't fair. But after all the darkness he put himself through and the demons he carried craved into his soul he couldn't help but want some kind of light to follow, a hope to hold on. She made him feel free, light, like there's still a way to escape from the emptiness that had become his life. And he wanted that. Selfishly, he wanted to use this way out she was giving to him. He wanted to explore this. To see if it was really possible for him to feel this happy, to enjoy life, one thing that Haley had took with her when she left him.

Later that night, when they were both at home and in their rooms, both of them felt the sleep overtook them with the same thought. After all of this was over, what the hell should they do?

 **A/N: See the review button? It'd really like a little click.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for all the response to this story, it has been so wonderful! I really appreciate all the suport. This chapter will show the chapters preeceding the "100" and the first part of it. As I already told you, I've changed a lot of what happens on this episode. I really hope you like it. I'll post the other this weekend.**

Chapter 9

Emily was curled up on her couch, eating ice-cream and watching a movie, trying to forget the last case. How could someone be so cruel? Even after all these years of working with the worst psychopaths she still have trouble to deal with some cases. Those three men, feeling so much pleasure by torturing and beating to death so many people and filming everything just to watch after and relive all the horror they caused was too much for her.

She heard the key on the lock of the door and turned to see Hotch storming into the apartment with a furious face. She uncurled and sat straight to ask what was wrong when he shoved his briefcase into the wall and punched it. With wide eyes she stood up and went towards him.

"What the hell happened, Hotch?"

He snarled and curled his fists trying to control his anger. "No now Prentiss. Just leave me alone"

 _Yeah right._ "No way Hotch, you're throwing things and punching the wall of my apartment. What happened, why are you so angry?"

He took a deep breath before answer with a growl. "They're taking my job. They're making me step back. That son of a bitch managed to take the only thing I had left!" He finished, almost shouting.

"What are you talking about?"

"Strauss came to the office tonight. She said the FBI was starting to think that I was not long able to do my job as Unit Chief. So she say that I have to step down. I'm not longer the leader of the BAU."

"What?" She asked him. _That fucking bitch!_ "This is not right! You can't leave the BAU. You _are_ the BAU. How could they do this?"

"They just did." He said, his tone now defeated, sitting on the couch.

"And who they intend to put in your place?"

"I'm promoting internally. I'll talk to Morgan. If I do this they can't put someone new on the team and nobody is going to mess with us. If I leave it open we could risk changing all the team's dynamics and even getting someone transferred or cutting our budget."

"I understand. But you know you're going to have a big work to convince Morgan, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Hotch. He's not going to like stepping at your place. It's just not right. We're all loyal to you. No one is going to like this."

He sighed. "I know. But it's for the best. And it's temporarily, just until we find Foyet."

"Yes, just until we find him." She looked at him with sad eyes while he sat at the couch, defeated. "How are you holding up?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm… I don't know Emily. It's my job, my life. I lost my wife because of this. It's the only thing I have left. And now… now it's gone".

"I'm so sorry Hotch. I know how it is to only have your job in your life. At least you have Jack. He may not live with you anymore but you have someone to call, to make you feel better. I literally only have this job." She said with a pathetic laugh.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "And yet you were willing to resign for me".

She looked down, unable to hold the stare without let her feelings pass by. "I couldn't. It was just not fair to build my career based on the end of yours. I knew how much the BAU meant to you and I just couldn't."

"I never thank you for that, did I?"

"Don't worry. I don't regret of what I did, and if I have to, I'd do it again".

He looked at the woman in front of him and fought the urgent to kiss her. It was so difficult to find someone willing to understand the importance of this job on his life and here was a woman that already had sacrifice her own career for him once and was saying that would it again. Why life couldn't be a little easier? Why there have to be so many obstacles prohibitions between them? He couldn't risk their jobs and their relationship as friends and co-workers because of his feelings. Not to mention the implications on the team and the uncertainty of the reciprocity of those feelings.

Realizing that he was just staring at her he cleared his throat and looked down. "Thank you, that really means a lot".

She gave him a slight smile and stood up. "Are you hungry? I made some mac and cheese but didn't eat yet. Do you want some?"

"Sure. I'm just going to take a shower and change clothes". She nodded and went to the kitchen. He stood there for a little while, thinking about how much it would be good to be with someone like that woman. Not because she was perfect, far from it. But because she knew him, the best and the worst, and still was by his side. Sighing he got up and went to his room. _I just hope someday I'll have the chance to know._

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"He is torturing him!" Arnold laughed at the desperate look at Hotch's face, while passing the pages of the book frantically. Suddenly he stopped, looking at a newspaper's piece with his picture and the Eye of the Providence drawn on red marker.

"Foyet."

Hotch grabbed his things and stormed out of the room without looking back. She ran after him, calling his name over and over but he didn't stop. It was like his mind had turned into blur, like he was a man on a mission, like Foyet had finally be able to take the last drop of sanity he had.

They got into the car and he dialed to Garcia. "House of Knowledge, Penelope Garcia speaking, how can I help you?"

"Garcia I need you to find how Karl Arnold got the messages from his admirer. I don't care what you have to do, track him down." He said sternly.

"But sir, we already tried this and it came to nothing".

"You have to find something Garcia. It was the Reaper. It wasn't the unsub, it had nothing to do with the case. It was Foyet"

They heard Garcia gasp. "Okay sir, I'll do the best I can".

"Call me if you find something".

He hung up and tightened the grip on the steering wheel. His knuckles were white and his breath was elaborate.

"Hotch, you have to calm down" She tried to resonate with him.

"I can't calm down Prentiss. He is toying with me. He's taunting me! I will not rest until we catch him. It's over, I'm done".

She sighed, knowing better than argument with him. She called JJ and once the cause was solved they agreed to meet at the BAU to debrief about Foyet's case. Forty-five minutes later they were gathered at the conference room going through the details of the case.

"Okay, let's get back a little. Since the beginning Foyet focused on Hotch. He called him direct to his room's phone to offer the deal, and then attacked that bus to taunt him about his choice to not agree with him. He broke into his house and challenged him, trying to make him fear for his life. Then he stabbed him the same way he stabbed himself, emphasizing that they would have the same marks, that they would be alike…"

In the middle of Morgan's speech something came up to Emily's mind. "That's it!" Everyone looked at her expectantly. "That's it! He has the same marks, the same scars. He was stabbed too! You take how many pills every night before sleep?" He asked looking at Hotch.

"Six. The doctors said that it is for the scar tissue."

"Exactly! The doctor said that you would have to take this right now and in a few months you would change to other ones, these ones you would have to take always because of the damage inside for the number of stabs. And you only had nine! He was stabbed forty-seven times! How many pills he have to take every single day because of it? And those pills are only released with prescription!"

"So, if we find out what medicines he has to take we could see in the registers who takes them and we could have his location…" Dave said, finally understanding her reasoning.

"You're brilliant." Hotch said looking at her. "Garcia, can you look what kind of meds he would have to take for this type of damage?"

"On it, sir!" After a few minutes she had a list of possible meds and their users.

"He wouldn't use his own name" Morgan pointed.

"He could have easily stolen someone else's identity."

"No, he's a narcissist. He would use someone connected to the case"

"A victim, a cop…"

"Nothing…"

"Wait guys, Foyet likes things that got meaning for him. The Eye of the Providence, the address wrote in blood on that bus that lead us back to him, maybe he has done the same thing to his name…" Reid said starting to write on the board.

"Like an anagram or something…" Everyone watched him play with the letters of his name, trying to find something useful.

"Anything?"

"Not yet…"

"Reid, he called himself The Reaper".

Finally, Reid managed to find the name. "Peter Rhea"

"There's a Peter Rhea in Arlington" Garcia said.

"We found him."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHHP

But it was just too easy. Looking at Kassmeyer body covered on blood, with missing fingers and a broken leg and arm, Emily felt her heart arch. After find out that Foyet indeed knew Haley's location and had managed to convince her that Hotch was dead and change her cellphone she feared for the worst.

"Where is Hotch?" Morgan asked.

"He went with Kassmeyer in the ambulance to get more information." She answered.

"Okay, I'll go back to the BAU with the others to try to narrow where he could have taken her. You stay here and wait for the Marshals and try to find out if there is some way to locate her, some kind of tracker, I don't know, anything we can use."

"Fine, go ahead." She stayed at the front of Kassmeyer's house and tried to think of something, any possibility to where he could have taken Haley and Jack. She closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If Foyet killed Haley and Jack she knew that Hotch would never be able to get over it. It would be the end. That bastard had finally played the final card. The more painful one. The grand finale. Suddenly, everything clicked. He would take the final act to where would be more painful for Hotch. His own house.

Taking her cellphone she dialed 3 and called Morgan, while get in the SUV. She knew that no matter what it takes, she would do anything to prevent the worse to happen.

 **A/N: Soo!? What do you guys think it will happen? Let a review, please! I apologize for the grammars errors.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey! I was so excited with this story that I couldn't wait to write the next chapter. Here is the second part of "100". I hope you guys like it. It's pretty angst to Hotchniss but I had to do this to follow the script I have to this fic. I'm sorry for the grammars errors.**

Chapter 10

"Hotch? Prentiss said that he is going to your house, where you lived with Haley and Jack." Morgan said through the phone while jumping in the SUV with JJ, Reid and Rossi.

"I know, I figure it out too. I'm on my way already. Just ten minutes away."

"We're going too. We'll take at least fifteen, man. Prentiss is closer. She's going to get there right after you I guess. Wait for her; do not go in without back up Hotch."

"I'm not waiting for anything Morgan. He has my son and Haley. Screw protocol." He answered hanging up the phone.

"Damnit! Don't do anything stupid, man." Morgan said.

"He's desperate. He's not stopping until this mess ends". Rossi said with a sigh. He just hoped that everything ended in the best way.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch parked at the front of his old house and stormed out of the car. He approached the living room's window and saw Haley sitting on the couch with Foyet hovering her, pointing his knife while talking to her. He couldn't see Jack anywhere and his chest tightened. He went towards the door and got in the house.

"Put the knife down Foyet." He said, authoritatively. Foyet startled for a slight second before pulling Haley in front of him and holding the knife on her throat.

"Hello Agent Hotchner. I was waiting for you. How are the scars? Do they hurt? Mine do, sometimes." He said, tightening the grip on Haley's arm.

"Let her go Foyet, it's over and you know it."

"Oh, I know. And what a great scenario, don't you think? I don't know why you left here, it's such a nice house!" He said with a smile. "Oh, I know. You didn't choose, did you? She shoved you out. What a shame Aaron, you're not even capable of keep your family." He said laughing. Hotch tried to get an angle to take the shot but he was keeping Haley too close and he couldn't risk it. "I'm really curious Haley, why did you even married him on the first place? You're such a beautiful woman…" He said, smelling her hair. "Why did you choose someone so… damaged?"

Unbeknown to them, Emily had arrived to the house and was positioned at window at the corner of the room listening the dialogue between them and trying to find a way to drag Foyet down. She saw Foyet holding a knife at Haley's throat and Hotch in front of him, pointing his gun but without a clear shot.

"I mean, look at where you are right now. You married a man who was never home, who didn't take care of you, who wasn't even on the birth of his only son and then let you alone at home every day to raise him. And now, he left you as a single mother and dragged you into his chaos, all because of his big ego".

Hotch narrowed his eyes and tensed his shoulders and jaw, trying to ignore the words. Emily saw a tiny window at the dinner room that was directed straight to Foyet and Haley and went towards there to see if she could get a clear shot.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked.

"Oh, you didn't know?! All of this is happening because you beloved ex-husband didn't want to make a deal with me, to stop hunting me. I just wanted to live my life like a free man, without going to jail, but he didn't agree."

"Don't listen to him Haley." Hotch said, seeing what he was doing.

"But it's the true, isn't it?" He said looking at Hotch, before continuing to talk to Haley. "He destroyed your life, made you leave your house, your job and now it's almost making you lose your life, all because of his ego. His need to always be the hero. And you know the best part? While you were away, hiding, he was here, fucking his subordinate!"

"Aaron…" Haley said, with tears in her eyes.

"This is not true."

"Oh, please Hotchner, you are living with her. What's her name again? Oh, right. Emily. Emily Prentiss. I have to say, you have a good taste. She's really hot."

"She's just helping me, nothing else. She's anything but my co-worker." Emily felt her heart broke at his sentence but forced herself to stay focused.

"Do you really believe in him Mrs. Hotchner? I mean, it's not like he hasn't lied to you before."

Emily saw right away what he was trying to do. Even knowing that he would get out of there alive he was doing everything he could to destroy Hotch's life, putting Haley against him, making him go against all the protocols. By the way Hotch's grip on his gun hardened she knew it wouldn't take too long for him to snap.

And if that happened nothing good would result because either he was going to miss the shot and hit Haley instead or he would kill Foyet and end his career. With Strauss already on his neck, just waiting for an opportunity to fire him, the fact that he got in to the house, without a vest, without waiting for back up and shoot the unsub while risking the hostage's life would be enough for her to achieve this.

Positioning on the window she had a clear vision to Foyet's right side, getting the right angle to take the shot without risking Haley, who was on his front. She waited for the right moment, and when he started to talk to Hotch again, distracting himself and loosening the grip on Haley a little she took the shot.

"Well Agent Hotchner, it seems that your wife is enjoying to get to know you a little better, who you really are… I wonder if…" A shot was heard, followed by Haley's scream and Foyet fell on the floor, a bullet hole on his temple, on the right side.

"Oh my god!" Haley screamed running to Hotch's arms. He tried to find where the bullet come from.

"It's okay, it's over, he's dead." He soothed her.

"I didn't saw you pull the trigger, I didn't know." She said crying.

"I didn't pull the trigger." He said still trying to find the shooter.

"Then who did?"

"I did." Emily got in to the house by the back's door. She saw Foyet's body on the floor and Haley clutching in Hotch's arms. She got her cellphone and dialed 3, waiting for Morgan answer. "Hey, it's over. He's down. Everyone is okay." She waited for his response and hung up. "They're almost here. Two minutes." She said looking at Hotch.

"Emily…" Hotch said in awe. "I didn't even know you were here".

"I got here right after you. I saw that you didn't have a clear shot so I looked for one."

"Thank you… I don't even know how… Just thank you". He said walking towards her and taking her in his arms. She patted his back and let go of him.

"No need. I had the shot so I took it. Where is Jack?"

"I don't know" He said looking to Haley.

"I told him to hide upstairs. I'm going to find him." She said going upstairs. At the same time the team arrived and stormed through the front door. They all went to the kitchen to go away from the body.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"Prentiss shot him. I didn't have the clear shot and she found it." Hotch said right before Haley appeared with Jack in her arms.

"Daddy!" Hotch's face lighted up with his son's voice and he jumped in to get him.

"Hey buddy! I've missed you so much!" he breathed against the boy's hair.

"I missed you too Daddy…"

The team watched at the reunion with tears in their eyes. Finally everything was over and they were back together again. After a while, Jack was asleep in Hotch's arms and they were all at the backyard waiting for the techs to process the scene. JJ spoke:

"I already called Strauss. She didn't seem happy about everything."

"Yeah, and she's going down on Emily with full force." Reid added.

"She better not do anything against her". Hotch said with a sternly voice.

"Could you tell us what made you play the snipper anyway Emily. Not that I'm not happy that this bastard is dead, but you know it's not going to be pretty for you with Strauss." Rossi said.

"I already said, I had the shot, I took it."

"I know, but in these situations we don't take the shot until absolutely necessary. And that's what they're going to say at the bureau".

"Look, I knew that he wouldn't surrender. We all know his profile. And he had a knife on Haley's throat. I took the shot and I would do it again." Emily said in an exasperated tone.

JJ looked at her for a few seconds before say. "It's not only that, isn't it?"

Emily looked at the team and sighed. "I saw what he was doing. He was taunting Hotch, saying this to make Haley doubt him and to make him snap. And I knew he was succeeding. And if Hotch took that shot he could risk hitting Haley. And even if he hit Foyet it would be the end for him. Like you said, Strauss is not happy about this whole situation. If it was Hotch who had took the shot she would finally had the reason she always wanted to end his career. He got in here without back up, emotionally involved and risking the hostage. As I already said, I took the shot and I would do it again. I've always said that I wanted to put a bullet between this son of a bitch's eyes."

Hotch looked at her, impressed of everything she had said.

"Yeah, but she doesn't like you either Emily. Something that I never get it, by the way. After all, it wasn't her who put you on the team?" Morgan asked.

"But I didn't serve to her purposes".

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

She sighed. "After Gideon left and Hotch was suspended she called me into her office and asked for my help to end Hotch's career. She said that she had putted me on the team for a reason and it was time for me to do it."

"She did what?" Morgan almost shouted. "And what did you do?"

JJ, who was in silence until then, answered. "She quit." Everyone looked at the blonde and then at Emily again. She stayed in silence, looking at her lap. "You quit right after Hotch asked for a transfer. Remember guys, the case in Milwaukee? We left without them and Strauss went with us. Then they showed up together at the station later."

Haley stood stunned listening at the dialogue. She remembered very well this case. It was the case that ended her marriage. She saw Hotch take a deep breath before start talking.

"The moment Emily entered my office and told me she was resigned and I saw the look on Strauss's face I knew that something had happened. So, after I decided to go help you guys I knew that I couldn't do it alone. So I went to Emily's apartment to ask her to come back to the team. And then after the case was solved I took care of everything with Strauss to ensure her permanence on the team."

"Wow… Talk about loyalty." Morgan said. _Talk about love._ Haley couldn't help but think.

"I hate politics. I couldn't make my way on the team by playing her dirty games. It wasn't fair." Emily said. She was trying very hard to not look to Hotch. The way her emotions were boiling she couldn't risk.

Ten minutes later they heard the SUVs parking on the front of the house. The techs started to work immediately and Strauss went towards them.

"What the hell happened here? Agent Hotchner, you couldn't have entered into a hostage situation without support, even if it was your wife! And Agent Prentiss, you're not a snipper. You could have hit Mrs. Hotchner instead. Have you all forgotten about everything you've learnt and all the protocols?" She said with a harsh tone. "The team was just a few minutes away, you could've had waited. Or even better, you could have asked for a tactical team, skilled to these situations. Both of you are suspended without payment for two weeks. We'll run an investigation to ascertain the facts and then we'll talk again." She turned to Haley. "Mrs. Hotchner, I'm glad that you're safe and back to your own life." Turning to the team, she continued. "As for you, I'll wait for all of you tomorrow at the office to work on the paperwork from this case." She finished before storming off.

Everyone stood in silence for a few seconds, waiting to absorb the outburst from their Section Chief. After a while, Haley broke the silence.

"Well… Now I can understand why you were always so pissed when you came home from a meeting with her…" The whole team cracked smiles at her comment.

By the end of the day the house was cleared by the techs and the team was at the living room.

"Well, I think we should go. We all need to rest after this, especially you three." Rossi said, pointing to Haley, Hotch and Jack.

"Yeah, let's go." The team said goodbye and left the house. Getting into her car Emily felt her heart constrict. Everything was over now and she was going home alone. She took a final look on the window of the house and saw Hotch picking Jack on his arms and going upstairs with Haley to put him on the bed. _Yeah, everything is the way it should be._ Hotch had his family back again and she knew that this was the type of situation where you revalue everything in your life. She knew that he would do all he could to keep his family together again. And she was back to her place. _As anything but a co-worker._ Felling the tears starting to pool in her eyes she started the engine and took off to her home. _I just hope he's happy…_

 **A/N: Wow. It was intense! Did you like it? Please let me know. Your reviews help me a lot.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry the delay, my godmother broke her leg and I was at the hospital with her. But here I am, with a new chapter! We'll have a little heart-to-heart with Hotch and Haley. No Emily on this chapter. But you'll see that it will be a HUGE push into their relationship. I hope you'll like, please let me know it you're still reading this and if I should continue. I love reviews, I miss them! :(**

Chapter 11

Hotch tuck Jack into his bed and arranged the blanket carefully. He knelt down beside him and stood there, watching him sleep peacefully. He couldn't believe that everything was over, that his son was back and Foyet was dead. He thought about everything that had happened that day, how Karl Arnold laughed at his face when he was despair, looking through the pages of that book, sensing that he had fell on a trap by Foyet. He remembered the panic he felt when he found Sam's pictures at his laptop and knew that he was watching his family this whole time, always being one step ahead of him.

He remembered the guilt and sadness he felt when he found Sam almost dead at his home, without half of his fingers, with a broken leg and arm, a broken nose and countless stabs on his torso. He remembered how loyal he was, fighting against Foyet and not telling him his family's location. He grieved the loss of his friend on the hands of this psycho, who unfortunately chose him to be the victim of his sickness.

Jack tossed around the bed before settling again, with his thumb into his mouth, his teddy bear clutched tightly in his arms, sighing lightly on his sleep. Hotch brought his hand to brush a few blond hairs on his forehead and caress his head. He was so thankful that he was safe and in his own home again, that he could go back to school and play in the small park down the street with his friends, that he could live his life freely, without the risk of a sociopath being sneaking and waiting for an opportunity to use him as a way of torture his father.

He thanked God for the fact that he wasn't at the room when Prentiss put that bullet into Foyet's head. It would be just another way of branding his pure soul with the darkness that he was used to deal on daily bases. _Prentiss…_ He closed his eyes and sighed, thinking about his female subordinate. He was on debit with her for the rest of his life. She had risked her own career and put herself on the crossfire for him. Again. How many times she would be willing to do this? Why did she always do this?

He remembered her big brown eyes trying to avoid contact with his dark ones the whole day. He couldn't even be alone with her for a few seconds to thank her for everything. He remembered her smell, the smell of her silk dark hair on his fingers when he held her earlier. God, how much he wanted to be able to hold her like that every second of every day… He remembered her words explaining her actions to them. _If it was Hotch who had took the shot she would finally had the reason she always wanted to end his career._ That much was true and he knew it. His Section Chief was only waiting for a reason, as small as it was, to end his career on the FBI. And he honestly didn't know the reason for such hate. He had already made clear, a lot of times, that he didn't had any interest on become the FBI's Director. He didn't want to leave the BAU. He didn't want to leave the field. He didn't want to leave his team. But apparently this wasn't enough for her.

He stood up and went to the door. Turning off the lights and closing the door softly he went downstairs, where he could hear Haley walking around. He had asked to put Jack on the bed alone, to have a moment with him by himself after all this time. He watched her on the kitchen, looking through the cabinets for a cup, probably to make some coffee.

"Hey". He greeted her.

She turned around, a little startled, and gave him a little smile. "Hey. He's asleep?"

"Yeah" He approached her and leaned into the counter. "I missed him so much. Watching him sleep so peaceful, so serene… I miss this so much… I still can't believe that it's over."

"I know. Me neither. He missed you too. Very much. Every night he asked me when he would see daddy again, why we were not at home, why he couldn't call you or you didn't call him… It was really hard."

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "I am so sorry Haley. For everything I put you through, for making you leave your house and your work, for making go hiding like a criminal, and most of all for making you and our son become a victim on the hands of that bastard. I am so sorry. I promise you I'll spend the rest of my life making up to you." He said looking at her.

She felt her eyes water and smiled sadly at him. "I don't blame you Aaron. I know how much all of this must have been hard and difficult to you. I know you did everything in you power to keep us save and I know that if it have been another way to deal with this you wouldn't have made us go away. I'd never doubt of you capacity to protect us. I'm just really glad that everything is over and we are back home".

"I'm glad too."

"Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure…" He said. Looking at her he could see that she was still shaking and a little startled. "Are you okay Haley? Did he hurt you in any way before I got here?"

She bent down her head before turning to him again. "No, he didn't touch me until you get here. But he said things… Awful things… It is true? What he said he did with Sam?"

He knew that even it was hard it wasn't fair to lie to her, so he said the truth. "Yes… He broke into his house and waited for him there. Then he tortured him to make him say your location". He saw a tear fall on her cheek. "But he didn't. He didn't say a thing. He was loyal until the end, and for that I'll be forever thankful."

"He was a good man. He helped us a lot. He always tried to calm me down when I was too fearful, he always were sweet with Jack. I'm so sorry that he's dead. That he died trying to protect us. He didn't deserve this". She said, finally losing a sob.

He pulled her into his arms and soothed her. "I know. He was a very good friend. I can't help but feel guilt. He died because of me. Because of that sociopath that I brought to our lives."

Haley pulled away to look into his eyes, still holding him. "That's not true Aaron. It's not your fault. He was just a son of bitch that unfortunately aimed to you. I'm sure Sam knew that. I'm sure he didn't blame you."

She pulled him into an embrace again and they stood there for a few minutes, relieved that their nightmare was over but also mourning the loss of their friends. While holding him, Haley couldn't help but think of how much she missed him. She knew she wasn't in love with him anymore. She hasn't been for a very long time. Even before she decided to take Jack and leave while he was away, working. But still, he had been her first love. She had loved him deeply and she was sure she still loved him on some way, and always would. She missed his presence in her life, his company. She missed having him to talk about the silliest things. She missed him to be with her every day and help to raise their son. She missed him, period.

But she wasn't naive. After today, she was pretty sure that her ex-husband had already moved on. Perhaps he has not done anything yet. But she knew that he wanted to. She saw the way he looked at Prentiss that day. She saw the way his eyes always sought her eyes the whole afternoon. She saw the way he held her affectionately when she shot Foyet. And even more, she saw that the feeling was reciprocal.

It was ridiculously obvious to her how much the brunette agent was in love with him. The way she risked her own job for him, without even think the consequences. The way she had given up her dream to not betray him. The fury she saw in her eyes when she said about her desire to pull a bullet into Foyet's head. And especially the way she fought against it, against the idea of having something with Aaron or at least to admit her feelings. Maybe for fear, maybe for think that it wasn't corresponded.

She wondered how long both of them would stay blinds at their feelings and how long it would take to one of them make a move.

She pulled away from his arms when the coffee was ready and gave him one cup. They stood in silence, although no awkward, finishing their coffees before he cleared his throat and stood up.

"I think I'm gonna head home. I'm pretty sure you're tired and need to rest."

She looked at him for a second before ask. "By home you mean your apartment you Agent Prentiss's?"

He stayed looking at her with a dumbfounded face before looking down and answering. "Yeah, I'm staying at Prentiss since my attack. The team didn't want me to stay alone in my apartment and she was the only one with room available".

She shook her head slightly before deciding to be honest with him and maybe give him a little push into the right direction. "Look Aaron, I know that what Foyet said wasn't true. I know that you weren't fucking your subordinate while I was away with Jack, I know you better than this." When he opened his mouth to say something she quickly added. "But I know you for more than twenty years. I know you, Aaron. And I know your "love face". So don't even try to deny to me that you don't feel anything for her that I'll know that you'll be lying".

He closed his eyes. He knew that if anyone would be able to see through his façade was her. She was not a profiler but she was his ex-wife. "She is… I don't know. She makes me feel good. She keeps me sane. Throughout this mess she was the one who was able to put me on the line, along with Dave. Even though I've been a jerk with her and didn't deserve it, she took care of me, you know. She gets me." He said, wincing inwardly. _Nice thing to say to your ex, moron."_

"I know Aaron. I saw it. And you don't have to feel bad about me. We didn't work because I couldn't get you, I couldn't understand your fascination for this job and I couldn't accept your lack of time to us. But I still love you. I'm not in love with you anymore, for a very long time. But I will always love you. We made a life together, we're connected forever. And I want you to be happy. The same way I know you want me to. And I saw the way you look at her and even more, the way _she_ looks at you. What are you waiting for?"

He sighed sadly. "Nothing can ever happen, Haley. You saw the way Strauss is always trying to come up with a reason to fire us. I couldn't do this to her. It could end her career. It's just not worth it".

"Not worth it? Really, Aaron? Because all I saw today was a woman willing to give up everything she worked for, all for you. You're really letting this job stay in the way of another relationship? A relationship like this is actually prohibited or it's just very bad view? Because if that's the case you have to think about it. She is giving you a new chance to be happy. She is someone who understands you and is capable of take the Agent Hotchner and the Aaron. So think about it. It's really so not worth it a little fight? She's not worth it?"

He stood there, looking at her and absorbing all her speech. Was Emily worth it? The answer was simple. Yes. She was. She was more than worth it. But it would be fair with her to put up with someone so damaged like him? Could he be so selfish? He was the one who was not worth it. She would be willing to risk so much for him?

"Aaron?" Haley's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Stop thinking so much. Indulge this one time. You know it is worth it. Don't throw it away".

He gave her a smile before pulling her into another hug. "Thank you Haley. Thank you for everything". He gave her a kiss on the forehead and left. He had to go home and fix some things. Haley stood on the middle of the kitchen looking to the door. _I really hope she can make him happy._

 **A/N: I told you! Next chapter will be the first explicit Hotchniss on this fic. Pay attention to the word EXPLICIT. This fic is rated M for a reason. Muahahahahaha. Let me a review, pretty please. They really help me to write this faster :)**

 **A/N²: Did you notice the last sentence of this chapter? And the last sentence of the last chapter? I made a little trick. Who do you think will be able to make Hotch really happy?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: As promised, here is the new chapter. Thank you for all the reviews! This chapter is rated M.**

Chapter 12

Emily put the key on the lock of her door and got into her apartment. She threw the key on the keychain and took off her coat and boots. Sighing, she went to the kitchen, filled a cup of water and drank. She braced herself into the counter and fought with her tears. Tears of pure joy, for the bastard that attacked Hotch were finally dead. Tears for sadness, for knowing that with the end of this and Haley's return, Hotch would go back to his family, to his house.

She went upstairs, getting in her bathroom and started to fill her bathtub. She sank into the water minutes later, trying to relax, trying to forget the events of that day and mostly trying to bury the feelings that were suffocating her and breaking her heart little piece by little piece. She stood there, letting the tears fall and hoping that she could get over this and keep her feelings buried inside of her.

Part of loving someone is wishing that that person be happy, even if you don't have any part in it. And she knew that. She knew that Hotch still loved Haley deeply and the decision of ending their marriage wasn't his. And now, after everything, maybe Haley would realize what a wonderful man she had and how lucky she was for it. Maybe they would work on their differences and figure it out some way of staying together as a family again. And maybe it was just the way things supposed to be.

She got off the tub and dried herself before put some sweatpants and a tank top. She went downstairs again and opened a bottle of wine, filling a glass and curled up on her couch, resting her head on the back rest and closing her eyes. She had drunk almost half bottle when she heard the key on the door and the knob turning. She turned her head and saw Hotch coming in. She stood up and looked at him with a frown.

"Hey… What are you doing here?"

He froze while taking his coat off. "I'm sorry. I don't leave here anymore? I know Foyet is dead but I thought that maybe you'd let me stay tonight. I really don't want to go to my apartment".

"No, that's not what I meant. Of course you're welcomed here. It's just… Shouldn't you be home with your family?"

He sighed and finished taking his coat and shoes. "Jack is sleeping. He already was by the time you guys left. I just stayed watching him for a while and then talked to Haley a little. She needed to rest too, so I let her…"

"Oh." She said. He took a few steps forwards, closing the distance between them a few inches. She took a sip of her wine before continue, trying to hide the shakiness of her voice. "I thought you would stay with them, you know, after everything". She wanted to say with _her_ instead of _them_ but she thought I would be too much.

"I will pick up Jack tomorrow and spend the day with him. And Haley… Well, I'll help her to stabilize her life again and get through this but that's it. I have no obligation with her except from our son. And I think I've already screwed up her life too much". He said with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry. I know how much you still love her and how hard it must be to you all of this." She said, even though her heart broke a little.

"I will always love Haley. She gave me my son, I'll be forever grateful for that. But I'm not in love with her anymore. The same way she isn't with me. It just didn't work… It's sad? Yes. But I think it's for the better. I want her to be happy. And honestly, I want to be happy too".

She felt her heart race at his speech and forced herself to breathe. "And you deserve it. To be happy"

He smiled at her and took a few more steps towards her. "I'd really like to thank you Emily. What you did today… I don't even know how to explain how much it meant to me. I'm very sorry for your suspension. You don't deserve it. Hell, I'd give you a medal if I could".

She laughed a little. "I already told you. You don't need to thank me. I was just doing my job. And honestly, I think I needed this time off. It's just been too much, this whole saga with Foyet and the last few cases… Actually, I think all of us need it, we're just lucky to get it" He chuckled at that. "And, thanks to mom and dad and their annually birthday and Christmas's checks I'm not particularly worried about the 'no payment' part".

He raised his eyebrows to her and she chuckled. He took the last steps towards her and finally had her pressed between him and the back of the couch. He saw her eyes widening and her chest fall up and down rapidly because of her fast breathing. "Either way, I'd like to thank you. You saved the mother of my child and enabled his return to his home. Thank you so much. You're… you're amazing" He finished with a low voice, leaning a little so he would say that right in her ear. He heard her sharp a breath and smiled inwardly. Taking her completely by surprised he pressed a little kiss on her neck, followed by another, and another and another…

She felt her heart stop completely at the first contact of his lips on her skin. _It has to be a dream_ she thought. She closed her eyes and felt him trace a line of kisses from her neck to her collarbone, then to her shoulders and back to her neck right below her ear. She felt his hand sneaking into her waist, playing with the hem of her tank top, making slight contact with her back. His fingers were like ice, frozen and hard and despite of the shivers that he caused, instead of making her feel cold he ignite a fire right from her core, making her blood burn into her veins and making her sweat.

When she felt him trace the side of her breast through her bra she knew she had to stop him. "Hotch…" She said with a moan. He took it as an encouragement and smiled against her neck. "Hotch." She said more forcefully, putting her hands between them to push him a little. He pulled back and looked at her with a frown. "Don't do this. You're just… grateful for what I did and confusing things. You'll just regret tomorrow and we'd be risking a lot here". She said. Part of her was screaming at her to stop being so stupid and enjoy what he was giving to her, but she knew that she couldn't let this happen. If they did this and later he told her that he regret it it would be the end to her.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He knew that she would put the responsible card but he wouldn't buy that. He didn't care about that anymore. So he tightened his grip on her waist and looked into her eyes. "Emily, I know we are risking a lot here. I know that logically we shouldn't be doing this, but honestly I don't give a damn. I don't care about the job, about Strauss. I don't care about the BAU and the team. And Haley doesn't have a place here anymore. Right now, I only care about us, about you. If you look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't want this, that you don't feel anything for me I'll leave you alone. But I know I'll not regret this tomorrow because I've been fighting against this for so long. And I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of looking for excuses to be not be happy. You make me happy. With you I feel whole, I feel complete. You get me. You know me. The best and the worst and still, you get me". He leaned in until their lips were almost touching. "Tell me Emily. Tell me you don't want this."

"I can't…" She whispered and not even a second later he pressed his lips to hers, firmly but softly, tracing the tip of his tongue on her lips, begging for entrance. After a few seconds motionless she softened her lips on his and opened her mouth to allow his tongue pass by. She felt like heaven. There was a fire burning inside of her and she couldn't think about anything but him. His arms around her, his smell, his taste, his touch on her skin, the felling of his skin under her fingertips. She never thought she would be able to live this, to feel this. He pressed her more forcefully into his frame and she let out a moan in his mouth when she felt the extent of his arousal on her stomach.

He backed her until he had her pressed against him and the back of the couch, without not even an air flow passing between them. When the lack of air become a problem he pulled back and descended his mouth to her neck again, but this time with hungrier kisses and love bites, eliciting moans and whimpers from her. She said his name as a prayer and he let out a cavernal grunt while biting the skin of her collarbone. He pulled back just enough to push her tank top over her head and then was back, kissing and licking the valley of her breast. He unclasped her bra with one hand and took off the fabric, throwing over his shoulders and then taking one of her pink nipples on his mouth.

She let out a low moan and gripped his shoulders tight, throwing her head back and grinding her hips to his looking for some type of friction to relieve the ache on her center. He suddenly gripped her thighs and lifted, making her put her legs around his waist, both moaning deeply at the contact of his erection to her womanhood.

He walked towards the stairs, clumsily, trying to get to her room fast. After a few bumps and two pauses to press her into the handrail and the way near her door they finally managed to get into her bed. His shirt was rapidly ripped of him while he covered every square inch of her torso with kisses, licks and bites, making her wetter and wetter.

"Please, please Aaron…" _When the hell did you start calling him Aaron?_ She couldn't help but think. But again, every rational thought were vanished from her head when his fingers found the waistband of her sweats, taking off along with her panties in one fluid motion. Then his fingers were on her and she bit her lip to prevent to scream out loud. Her own fingers found the way to his belt and she unclasped it fast, pulling the zipper of his pants too. She inserted her hand inside his boxers and found his length, stroking one, two, three times.

"Fuck." He cursed when he felt her small hand encircled his troubling cock. It had been so long to him that he knew he wouldn't last much so he took her hand off and pushed his pants and boxers down his legs, kicking it off the bed. He took his manhood in his hand and positioned on her center, looking into her eyes before pushing in slowly.

Her eyes rolled out in her head at the feeling of him inside of her. After tonight she knew that she would never be able to be with anyone else. He had marked her in such a way that she never allowed anyone. He was breaking her into tiny little pieces and there was no way in hell she would be able to get out of there alive. He owned her now. First he had taken her heart, then her head and soul and now he had taken her body too. He moved inside of her carefully and so lovingly that she felt tears pricking on her eyes.

He looked at her underneath him and couldn't believe it. She was so beautiful, her lips swollen, her cheeks flushed, her hair messed up. He leaned his lips to her ear and planted little kisses all over it before whispering. "You're so gorgeous… you feel so good, so tight, so warm". He continued to kiss her ear and neck, whispering sweet things to her. He could feel her walls contracting against him and knew that she was close. He was too, so he pulled back to look into her eyes. "Look at me Em." When she locked her big brown eyes with him he said. "Come with me. Come for me Emily."

And who she was to deny it? She came violently, shivering and whimpering his name. Just seconds after she felt him shudder and empty inside her, murmuring her name sweetly. He collapsed on top of her and they stood like that for several seconds, trying to control their breathing. He pulled out of her, causing a moan of protest, and pushed her to him, resting her head on his chest and planting a light kiss on her forehead.

She stood there, listening to his heart beat and hoping that he was right about not regretting this in the morning. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so good and in peace. Lying on his arms she sighed and prayed for this would be her happily ever after, to allow her live this, have this feeling forever. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer, smiling when she felt him tightening his grip on her waist, and drifted off, feeling his skin under hers and thanking God for bringing her dream man to her reality.

 **A/N: Soo? What do you think? Pleeeeease, let me know!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey! You guys missed me? Here I am! I'm warning you, this chapter is completly fluffy. I thought that after so much drama they needed it. But it's rated M too, so... Hope you'll like it!**

Chapter 13

Emily woke up just after dawn broke. She opened her eyes slowly and for a fraction of second panic at the feeling of a pair of strong arms holding her tight. But then she remembered the night before and couldn't help but smile. She remembered the way he kissed her so deeply and intensely and the way his hands roamed on her body, making her shiver uncontrollably. She remembered the way he whispered on her ear, telling her that she was beautiful, that she felt so good, that he was incredibly lucky to be with her, the way his eyes locked with hers, showing so much emotion from this man that everyone judged be made of steel.

She snuggled closer to him and put her head on the crock of his neck, inhaling his scent, enjoying the feeling of his body, of his skin on hers, of his hands on her body. After a little more than twenty minutes she felt him begin to stir. She tensed a little, worried of how would be his behavior this morning. She knew he had said that he wanted her and he wouldn't regret it but she couldn't help but feel insecure.

Hotch woke up with a smell of strawberries invading his nose. He smiled a little, figuring exactly where it come from and feeling the weight of her slim frame pressed on his body. He could feel by her breathing that she was awake and that fact that she had cuddled even more close to him warmed his heart. He started to trace his fingers by the length of her bare spine and felt her shiver. He chuckled a little at that and pushed her up so she was on top of him. She looked up and met his eyes and he could see a bit of insecurity on hers. He knew that she would be worried if his feelings would be the same yet so he smiled at her and leaned up to give her a sweet kiss.

"Good morning, beautiful". She let out a breath, relieved that he didn't regret anything. He saw her relieve and chuckled. "I told you I wouldn't regret it Emily".

She smiled a little. "I know. But it seemed too good to be true" She said sheepishly.

"Mmm mmm. It's good and it's true". He said kissing his way up to her neck to her ear and taking her earlobe between his lips and sucking. She moaned and arched her back pressing her breasts to his chest. He sucked her neck and collarbone, biting and licking continuously, marking her as his. She started to grind against his length, feeling it harden almost instantly. He moaned at the contact with her wetness and bucked to her, making her whimper.

"Oh!" She gasped when he suddenly touch her intimacy with his fingers. He inserted a finger inside of her, followed by another, pushing in and out over and over until her felt her contracting and quivering. "God!" She exclaimed falling over the edge. He kissed her profoundly and flipped them over so that he was hovering her.

"Beautiful". He said in awe looking at her flushed cheeks. He lined himself between her legs and entered her, closing his eyes at the feeling of her walls tightening against him. They moved slowly at first, then faster and faster until both of them were gasping and moaning, nearing the edge. A few more strokes she shivered uncontrollably moaning his first name at the silence of the room, soon followed by his grunt, empting himself inside of her. They both stood tangled at each other, gasping for breath.

"That was a heck of good morning!" She said with a chuckle, eliciting one from him too.

"Yeah. I can get used to this". He said, brushing a piece of hair off her face. She tensed a little bit at his sentence. What were they doing? What did this mean to him? It was just sex? He was really willing to risk his job to have a relationship with her? He felt her tense and pulled her up to face him. "What's wrong Em?"

She bit her lip and avoided eye contact with him. "What are we doing Hotch? What this means?"

He knew that she was going to feel insecure and demand answers about what was happening. He sat up, bringing her up with him, making her sit on his lap. He tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "I was being serious when I said that you make me happy Emily. You make me feel good. When I'm with you I know that I can be myself and you'll accept me the way I am. You've already seen me at my best and at my worst, especially at my worst, and you're still by my side, loyal, taking care of me, risking so much for me".

"But what exactly is this? What do you want?" She asked, needing to know what this meant to him.

"I want you. Period. Not just this" He said, running his hands on her thigh. "I want to be with you, every day. I want to hold you and talk to you about anything. I want to wake up with you and fall asleep with you. I want to take you out to dates and I want to be able to say that you're mine".

She couldn't help but smile at him. She leaned in and brushed her lips to his and felt him smile against her mouth. She felt a warmth on her chest and found hard to believe that this was really happening. But although she could see the sincerity on his words she still didn't understand how he could feel that way. She was, deep inside, scared that he was just grateful for her killing Foyet and when the moment passed he would start to think clearly and would see that his feelings weren't really like that. He saw her frown and asked. "What are you thinking Emily?"

She sighed before looking at him. "I just don't get it. Where this is coming from? You never, _ever,_ showed any trace of feeling something like this for me. I guess I'm just scared that you're not thinking straight and when this turbulence passes you'll find out that in fact you never saw me like this, you were just thankful and vulnerable".

"Em, I know that you're scared. And that's my fault because I buried my feelings so deep inside that I ended up not showing at all. In fact, I only treated you like shit, so I understand that you don't trust me right now. But I'm not confused. And I'll not change my mind. I have felt this for so long Emily. Ever since you gave up your job to not betray me I saw what a wonderful woman you were and I started to observe you and learn things about you. I know how much you love chocolates and Vonnegut. I know that from all the places you've passed by growing up you love Rome the most, but something happened there that hurt you and you don't like to remember. I know that you always smell like strawberries and that you look so absolutely amazing in red. I know that you like to curl up on your couch with a bowl of ice cream and watch a girly movie after bad cases and in rainy days. I know that you want so bad to be a mom, and I know that you'll be an amazing one someday. I know so much about you but I want to know so much more. For this work you have to believe me when I say that I want to be with you. Can you do that? Can you believe me when I saw that I'm falling in love with you Emily?"

She took a sharp breath and let one tear fall on her cheek. "Y-you're falling in love with me?"

He smiled. "Yes, Emily. I'm falling and fast" He kissed her deeply. "Do you think you can fall for someone like me?" He asked hopefully.

"No…" She shook her head and saw his face fall. She smiled and kissed him sweetly. "I already fell. I love you Aaron. I've always loved you".

She chuckled at his sigh of relieve and kissed him again. They stood into their embrace for several minutes, pulling back just for breathe. Hotch's cellphone started to ring and they both groaned. "I'm sorry, I have to get that". He picked up his phone and answered. "Hotchner".

"Aaron, it's me". Haley's voice came through the phone.

"Haley, what's up?" He said, pulling Emily closer to him when she attempted to leave his lap. He smiled at her and tucked her head under his chin.

"I'm sorry for calling so early, it's just that Jack woke up crying and won't stop. He keep calling for you over and over".

"That's okay Haley, can you put him on the phone?" He waited for her to put the crying boy on the line.

"Daddy?"

"Hey buddy. What happened?"

"I had a bad dream!"

"Oh buddy. That's okay. You want to talk about it?"

"The bad man took you away!"

Hotch felt a tug on his chest and the despair on his son's voice. "But he didn't buddy. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere".

"When I'm going to see you?"

"Soon honey. I'm going to pick you up after breakfast and we're going to spend the whole day together, what do you think?"

"Really? Are you coming already?" His voice lighted up.

"Not yet buddy. I'll see you soon okay? Can you put mommy on the phone?"

He waited for Haley pick up the phone. "Hey".

"Hey. I'll pass by at 10 to pick him okay?"

"Okay, he's very anxious." She said with a chuckle.

"Me too. See you." He hung up the phone. Emily looked at him and kissed him.

"Everything is okay?"

He stared at her beautiful eyes and her swollen mouth and smile. "Everything's perfect". He lay down and bring her to him, flipping them over so she was beneath him and started to kiss her all over.

"Aaron…"

"Mmm…" He murmured between kisses.

"We have to get up. You have to get Jack" She said breathlessly.

"It's early. We still have time. I don't want to get up". He said sucking a sensitive spot on her neck.

"God…"

He smirked and continued his assault. After half hour they finally get out of the bed, took a shower and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. They ate it together at the kitchen counter, talking about nothing in particular. Between the talk Emily brought up a subject that was bugging her.

"You're going to move back to your apartment?"

He stopped the fork mid-way his mouth and stood in silence for a moment. Dropping the fork, he cleared his throat and said, sheepishly. "Actually, I was thinking about that and… I really don't want to go back to that place. So… Do you mind if I stay here a little longer, until I find another place?"

She smiled at his obvious embarrassment. "You mean if I mind of having my…" She stopped mid-sentence, not knowing if she should use the term boyfriend yet. "Of having you, here? Of course I don't Aaron. I'm the one who brought you here on the first place".

He smiled at the blush on her cheeks at her slip. "Thank you. And I guess the term you're looking for is boyfriend, sweetheart". He leaned in and kissed her slightly.

She had tears in her eyes, tears of happiness and disbelief that this was really happening. "I love you".

"And I'll never get tired of hearing this" He put the dishes on the sink and turned back to her. "Okay, now I have to go or I'll have a very impatient three-years-old boy calling me soon. I think I'm going to take him to the park and then have lunch somewhere. Maybe a movie after. I see you tonight?"

"Mmm hmm. I'll be right here".

"Okay. I want you to be ready for us to go out. I'm taking you for our first date".

She smiled brightly at this, both standing at the door now. "Okay. Bye. Be safe and give Jack a kiss for me".

"I will. We'll be going out together soon".

She nodded and he left, leaving her with a big smile. He was right. _Everything was perfect._

 **A/N: Told you it was fluffy. Next chapter will be up this weekend. I think it'll have some of the team, a talk between Emily and Haley and a lot of Jack! You guys are still reading this? Honestly, should I continue it? Sometimes I think I should end it. Please, let a review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the delay. I thought I'd be able to post this weekend but couldn't. But here is the 14th chapter. Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate all your suport. I hope you'll like this chapter. We have a little more of fluffy. I'm taking about a couple more of chapter like this before a little drama. What do you think it'll be? I would love some suggestions!**

Chapter 14

Hotch parked on the front of his old house and killed the engine. He got out and went towards the front door, knocking it and waited for Haley. Not long after he heard his son's voice shouting on the inside and Haley's attempt to calm the little boy. The door swung open and Jack run to his dad's arms with a wide grin.

"Daddy! You came!"

Hotch couldn't help but smile. "Of course I did buddy. I promised you, didn't I?" He picked up the boy on his arms and turned to his ex-wife. "Hey".

"Hey. He was almost making me call you again." She laughed.

"I thought so. Are you excited, buddy?"

"Yeah! Where are we going?"

"Well, I was thinking of the park down the street that we used to go. Then have some lunch and go watch a movie after. Do you like it?"

"Yay!" The boy squealed. Hotch took his bag from Haley's and said goodbye, taking the boy to his car. Then went to the park and Jack immediately went to the swings, asking for Hotch to push him. They stayed on the park until almost noon and the whole time Hotch had a big grin on his face, immensely happy to finally have his little boy back. During lunch, Jack asked his daddy about their living arrangements. "Daddy?"

"Yes, buddy?"

"Are you going to come back home with us?"

Hotch felt a tug on his chest at his child innocence. "No buddy. Remember how I and your mommy talked to you not long ago? We decided that would be the best to all of us if we didn't stay together anymore because we didn't feel the same way anymore. So daddy got a new apartment just for him and left the big house for you and your mommy".

"But I thought that after we came back from our vacation we would stay together again" Jack answered with a pout.

"No buddy. Unfortunately we won't live together again. But I'll talk to mommy and ask for us to have a lot of time together, just us boys, we can have sleepovers, we can watch movies, and we can play with your Legos and your cars and go to the park and a lot of other fun places, okay?" He said, trying to light up his son mood again.

"Okay, I guess. I'll stay with you tonight? We're having a sleepover at your apartment?" The boy asked, excitedly.

"Not tonight sweetie. My apartment has some problems so I'll have to look for another place. When I move to there we can have a lot of sleepovers, okay?"

"But where are you sleeping? You can stay there too, daddy!" His son asked with such a frown that he had to smile.

"I'm staying with a friend. Miss Emily, do you remember? You met her yesterday."

"Yeah! She took the bad man away! She's awesome!"

Hotch chuckled but his inside warmed at the prospect of his son liking Emily so much. "That she is, buddy. That she is."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

By the end of the day Hotch took Jack back to his house. The boy fussed a lot, not wanting to leave his father soon but with Hotch's promise to come to dinner the next day he quiet down. Haley greeted them at the door and invited Hotch in for a cup of coffee. She sent Jack to his room to play with his toys and went to the kitchen, followed by Hotch. "So… You look happy".

"I am happy. That son of a bitch is dead, I'm suspended but didn't lose my job and I got my son back. Everything is great." He answered with a smile, but also avoiding the subject he knew she wanted to talk. Although his relationship with Haley had stayed amicable after the divorce and he was glad that she didn't blame him for anything with Foyet, he thought it was really weird to talk about his love life and his new girlfriend (God, how much he loved to say this!) with his ex-wife. But by the look on her face he knew she would push the subject.

" _Everything?_ "

Sighing he brush his hand through his hair. "Just ask, Hay."

"How did everything go last night? Did you two talk?" She asked.

"We did. She was a little reluctant to believe I was saying the truth because I'm a robot and never show my feelings but in the end everything worked out".

"I'm glad. So… She's your _girlfriend_ now?"

"Haley, don't you see how weird is this?" Hotch asked with an awkward laugh.

"Yeah. A little. But I want you to know that I want you to be happy Aaron. I know that we had our differences, part from you, and part from me. I know that it wasn't fair for me to ask for you to change who you are and leave a job you love. I was never able to understand this world you leave in and that's why we didn't work it. But she does. She lives in this world and gets how important it's to you." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm not saying that it doesn't hurt. I really thought that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you but unfortunately we didn't. But I do love you. I will always love you. You were my first love, my first kiss, my first… Everything. And if I wasn't capable of making you happy I want you to be with someone who is". She looked at him and he could see the tears on her eyes.

"But you did Haley. You made me very happy. We were married for almost fifteen years. And you were my first everything too. And I will always love you". He said taking her into a tight hug. They talked about some other things and ended making plans for dinner the following day.

"You could bring Emily". Haley said when they were saying goodbye at the door.

"I'll ask her but I don't know if she'll be comfortable with".

"Well. We'll start to have a lot of contact once she is with you and we have Jack. You tell her she is welcome here any time and that she doesn't have to feel constrained about your relationship".

"Thank you Haley. For everything. Again." He said with a smile. He left and got into his car. Smiling to himself he thought about his time with his son and how much he had missed it. He thought about his talk with Haley and really believed when she said she was happy for him. They had been really happy together and although their divorce had been at little hurtful, to his part the most, they would always have a connection that couldn't be ignored and he was glad that she was supportive to this new aspect from his life.

He started the engine and took off to his apartment. He decided to go there to get ready to his date and pack a few more things to take to Emily's place. He smiled at the thought this. It was almost as if he was moving in with her. _Uh._ He was really surprise at his lack of worry about this idea. Because it was not like they were together for a long time. Hell, they weren't together even for a day! What if they were moving this too fast? What if _he_ was drowning himself too deep into this new relationship and in the end would be hurt all over again? He felt his distrustful nature rising up and forced himself to stop it. He remembered of how much he trusted in Emily, how much she had already done for him and how much she had proved, over and over, that she truly loved him. With that thought in mind he parked in front of his old building, got out of his car and hurried towards the elevators. He had to get ready to go out with a beautiful brunette.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Emily groaned as she threw the fiftieth dress over her shoulder. It was ridiculous! She had spent the last twenty minutes trying to find an outfit to her date with Hotch. He had sent her a text saying that he would get ready at his place and would pick her at 8 pm. It was already 7:20 and she was still without make up, her hair damp and without a clue of what to wear. She sat down at her bed and sighed. It was ridiculous!

She looked at the mess into her closet and tried to imagine what Hotch would like to see her. _Anything_ , the annoying voice on her head said. _In nothing too,_ now the voice sounded very much as Garcia's. She looked at the clock and seeing that it was already 7:30 she decided to fix her hair and makeup while decided her look. She dried her hair and chose to let it fall on curls on her shoulder, a little different from what she was used to use now, always straight. She also chose to use a light makeup with just a little brown eyeshadow, some mascara and a coral gloss. She came back to her room and finally decided to go with a simple low-cut knee-length black dress, with short sleeves and black heels.

Looking at her watch she saw it was 7:55, meaning that Hotch could arrive at any minute from now, so she hurriedly put a pair of silver earrings and a little rose silver pendant she had gotten from her father on her last birthday. Just as she was picking her purse and coat she heard a knock on her door and her heart started to beat faster. She opened the door with a brightly smile and at his sight she nearly stopped breathing.

Hotch approached her door, holding a small bouquet of lilies. He had chosen to leave the suit at home and opted for a pair of dark jeans, a blue dress shirt with the two first buttons opened and a leather jacket. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. When she opened he felt his heart stop. _Sweet Jesus_. How it was possible for someone to look so beautiful?

"Hey" She greeted him with a wide smile.

He looked at her for a few seconds, taking in all of her. "God, you look absolutely breathtaking." He finally managed.

She blushed and looked at his appearance. His choice of wardrobe definitely surprised her but in a very good way. "Well, you look pretty great yourself, Agent Hotchner".

He smile at her at suddenly reminded of the bouquet on his hand. "Oh, these are for you".

"Thank you Aaron… They're beautiful". She said taking the flowers.

"No, you are. Gorgeous." He looked at her up and down. "God, how did I get so lucky?" He said to himself, making her blush again. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let me just put these on a vase". She quickly went to the kitchen and put the flowers on a crystal vase before take her coat and purse and close the door. "So, where are we going?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out". He said with a smile, opening the passenger door for her. She gave him a wide smile before he closed the door and he felt his heart flutter. Going to the driver's seat he realized how lucky he really was. After a time of all darkness and tragedies he finally was on a place where he could call himself happy. Getting into the car and starting the engine he looked at the brunette at his side and thought. _Yep, life was pretty great._

 **A/N: Did you like it? Let me know! Next chapter it'll be their date and the dinner at Haley's. I could use some suggestions! Pretty please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm so very sorry for the delay. Things are a little crazy at work and I didn't have time to write this. But here is the second part of their date. I left the dinner at Haley's for the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it.**

 **Oh, and for those who don't know yet, I have another fic, Hotchniss of course. It's called Oblivion. Please, go take a look and let a review. Let a review here too please. They motivate me to write this faster, so if you want to know what happens soon, you know what to do!**

Chapter 15

Hotch took her to her favorite Thai place, much for her delight. They sat at a small table on the corner of the room and ordered a bottle of Merlot. While waiting for their meals, they talked about everything and anything, sharing little things about themselves and getting to know each other. In the middle of the talk, Emily asked about his day with Jack and a full-dimple smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, it was… wonderful. I've missed him so very much all this time, his laugh, his silly questions, just his voice calling me 'daddy'. It's something that I don't know how to describe. I love him more than life itself".

She smiled at his enthusiasm and took his hand in hers. "I know you do. And I'm so happy that you brought him back home, back to you". She saw his smile fade for a slip of second. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Em…" He said, smiling at her, even though it didn't catch his eyes. And of course she noticed.

"It's not nothing. What happened? You know you can tell me anything".

He sighed. "Jack asked me if I was going back home with them". Before he finished his sentence he could already feel Emily trying to pull her hand out of his, but he squeezed it and held it tightly. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you would do this, try to pull away from me".

"But Aaron…"

"No Emily. Jack is very young. He doesn't quite understand why things are the way they are. He just wants to spend more time with me. And I want that too. But that doesn't mean that I want to go back there. I miss my son like crazy, every single day. But that's it". He interrupted her.

"But I can't help but feel like I'm on the middle here Aaron. What if you and Haley could try again? After everything you all have been through, it's kind of a situation that makes you think about your mistakes and faults and maybe if you two talked you could try to rebuild your relationship. It would be the best for Jack and maybe for you two too. It's cleared what he wants. Maybe I'm just on the way".

"Do you realize how many times you said 'maybe' on this little speech?" He asked her. "Emily, my relationship with Haley was pretty much over long before she left me. She couldn't understand how important it was this job to me and for her the idea of a happy life was be in a desk, boring job where I'd be home by five to do whatever she wanted me to do, not caring if I was satisfied with that. Every time I left to work it was after half hour of fights and accusations of being a bad husband and a bad father while I just wanted to make the world a better place for them. I'm not saying that she didn't make me happy because she did. Very much so. She gave me Jack and for that I'll always love her. But when I was at home I couldn't just be myself. She was only interest on Aaron. She didn't want anything with Hotch. I never could talk to her about my problems at the Bureau, I never could talk about how much boring a meeting with Strauss was, I couldn't tell her about my nightmares… I had to turn off this part of me and it was just so exhausting".

"Oh Aaron…" Emily said looking at him with sad eyes.

"I don't want that again Emily. I don't need that again. I just don't love her anymore. I miss being near to my son but I don't miss being married to her. Not at all. You are not on the way Emily. You… you saved me. You brought me back to life. You showed me that I can love again and I can let someone love me too. I don't want to go back to her. I want to be with you. And I'm not saying that you're perfect because I know that you're not. You're strong-headed and stubborn as hell and sometimes you drive me nuts but God, how much I want to spend the rest of my life putting up with you". He looked at her and saw tears pricking her eyes. He brought her hand to his mouth and placed light kisses on her knuckles. "I love you Emily. You're the reason I'm still alive, sane. You saw me at my weakest and you're still by my side, making me feel like the best man on earth. I don't want to go back to that life. I want to build a new one, with you by my side. You and Jack are the most important things in my life now. I don't want anything else…"

She felt a single tear scape on her cheek and she wiped quickly. She couldn't believe that this man was actually saying those things to her. She couldn't believe that she had finally found the man who would make her happy for the rest of her life. She always thought that this type of things only happened on fairy tales or soap operas and movies. All her life she was always surrounded by fake and diplomatic smiles, selfish people who just were seeking their on interest and political agendas. Her parents' marriage was full of rancor and hate, maintained only by appearances and she was stuck on the middle of that, seeing they insult each other and betray each other over and over.

Her conception of love was based just on what she saw on her friends' families and read on books. The first time she ever experienced the existence of love was at age of fifteen, when Matthew helped her through all the abortion and the consequences of it, always by her side and never asking anything in return.

When she got into the team she found for the first time a family that accepted her as herself and loved her despite of everything. She found two sisters, two brothers, a father and Hotch. She never could classify him as a relative, a father, a brother, an uncle, nephew or cousin. She just never saw him as anything but a partner. And now here he was, saying with all letters that he wanted to be with her too.

She gave him a watery smile and squeezed his hand. "I love you too. And I don't need anything either. You're all that I need".

He smiled at her and tilted his head to the side. "Although… I wouldn't mind to have a little Emily". Her eyes grew wide. "You know, a little brunette girl, with your eyes and your laugh" He chuckled. "Yeah… I wouldn't mind that at all". He said with a dreamily smile. She just stood there, looking at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. He chuckled again. "I never thought that I would leave Emily Prentiss speechless". He teased. Leaning in, he took her open mouth with his in a mind-blowing kiss, sweeping his tongue on her mouth and stroking her own, eliciting a moan from her. He slowed down the kiss before it became too heated for their surroundings. Giving her a last peck he pulled away, smiling at her swollen lips curved on a smile. "I love you". It was the only thing he could say.

"I love you too. So much". She whispered.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHHP

After dinner they decided to take a walk on the small park nearby. Hotch wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder and her head was leaning on his. They walked for several minutes in silence just enjoying each other's company. Suddenly Hotch reminded of his talk with Haley earlier and stopped, making Emily turn to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just… earlier, Jack didn't want me to go so I promised him that I would come for dinner tomorrow".

"Okay…" She said, not knowing where he was going.

"Well, Haley told me to invite you too". She widened her eyes and opened her eyes to say something but he interrupted her. "I know, I know it's weird and I said to her that you probably wouldn't feel comfortable with it but… it's just, you two will have to see each other once in a while because of Jack and also I want you to meet him soon. I know it's not the ideal occasion but could you think about it? If you don't want it it's okay and I completely understand but just think about it. It would mean a lot to me".

She looked at him, still a little apprehensive about the idea but seeing his expectant look she nodded. "Okay, I'll think about it". He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. They stood on the embrace for several minutes until they pulled apart breathlessly. "Now, let's go home".

"What's the rush Agent Prentiss?" He couldn't help but tease her.

She grinned mischievously and leaned in to whisper on his ear. "Because, _Agent Hotchner_ , I want to take you home, lead you to our bedroom, take you to our bed and have my way with you _all night long_ " She finished taking his earlobe between her teeth, making him hiss.

As he was thinking in reply her one thing she said caught his attention. "Our bed?"

She sobered up quickly, looking at him straight to his eyes. "Yes Aaron. We're living together and even if not permanent, right now it's our home, our bedroom, our bed".

He smiled a full-dimpled smile at her and took her mouth with his in a fierce kiss. "I love you sweetheart".

"I love you too. And I love when you call me that". She whispered.

He gave her one last kiss before grabbing her by the waist and going towards the car. "Then let's go home, sweetheart".

 **A/N: Let a review! Even if it's just a few words, they really make my day. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hello! I can't believe that we're already on chapter 16! Wow. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews. I didn't have time to reply all of them but I'm really greatful.**

 **I know I said this chapter would be the dinner at Haley's but reading the last few chapters I notice that I've been very focused on Emily's feelings and thougths. So this one is a little ride into Hotch's POV. How he is dealing with all these changes and how he feels about Emily. I know that probably some of you will think that I'm paiting a too much romantic Hotch, maybe say that it's becoming a little too OOC. But I'd like to emphasize that Hotch actually is a very romantic guy. You just have to watch the episodes with Haley on Season 1, before they started to fight, and also the episodes on Season 7 and 8, with Beth. On the job, he is Agent Hotchner, cold and emotionless, but privately he is a very sweet guy, romantic and caring. So, have this in mind when you read this.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own them.**

Chapter 16

Emily fell on the bed with a soft thud. She was only wearing her red lacy panties right now, having her dress almost ripped off of her by Hotch as soon as they entered the apartment and her bra tossed off in the way upstairs. Hotch had lost his jacket, shirt and shoes, and his belt was opened revealing the light blue waistband of his boxers. He looked at her, only those tiny panties and honestly thought that he had died and went to heaven. How it was possible someone look this gorgeous?

He took her right foot on his hands and brought it to his mouth, sucking her toes, eliciting a low moan from her. He did the same thing with her left foot and then started to trace open-mouthed kisses and little bites all the way her legs and tights. He could feel her trebling beneath him and the whimpers and moans she was making were driving him insane. Reaching the apex of her tights he looked at the little piece of fabric that was obstructing his way to her and took it with his teeth, making eye contact with her, dragging it down her legs until he took it all off.

He continued his earlier assault, kissing the way up her tights, avoiding her most intimal place, tracing his tongue over her rips and her belly button. Her breathing become more and more elaborated as he was getting on her center, making him smile against her skin. Once he reached her center, he looked up at her and saw her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed and her mouth partly opened. When he didn't do anything she opened her eyes and looked down, meeting his dark filled-with-lust eyes and saw the corners of his mouth turning up into a wicked smile. Keeping the eye contact he put his mouth on her making her nearly scream. "God!" She gasped at the contact of his tongue with her clit. It had been so long since a man had devoted so much attention to her body, to give her pleasure. But she knew that Hotch wasn't like any man she had known. He was a perfectionist in everything and it didn't surprise her that he was one in the bedroom too.

"Hmmm. You taste like peaches and cream." Hotch murmured against her skin, creating another waves of pleasure. She moaned deeply and bucked her hips into his face, her hands gripping tightly on his hair.

He kept licking and sucking her lazily, sending her close to the edge just to drag her back. She whimpered and moaned uninterruptedly, his given name echoing on the silence of the bedroom. Suddenly he inserted his tongue inside her channel and she screamed; her vision blurring and her body shaking uncontrollably. She barely felt he continue to clean her, drinking her juices and giving sweet kisses into her until her shivers subsided.

When her body finally stopped shaking and her breathing normalized she looked down to find him looking at her, his chin on her belly, his fingers tracing little lines on her stomach and her chest. He smiled at her, this time not sexually but sweetly, full of love and care. "Hey, beautiful".

"Hey". She smiled at him. "Come here". She tugged his hand, bringing him upwards to her until he was hovering her. She cupped his face and captured his lips in a deep kiss, tasting herself on his tongue, moaning into his mouth. He kissed her intensely, stroking her tongue with his, tracing every inch of her mouth, his hands trancing her sides, her breasts and her hair.

After what seemed to be an eternity they pulled apart, both gasping for air. He brought his lips to her ear, taking her earlobe between his teeth and biting softly. "God, I love you so much". He whispered to her, bringing tears to her eyes.

"Say that again. Say it again". She asked in a whisper.

"I love you, I love you Emily. I love your hair, I love your smell, I love your soft skin, I love your body, all of your curves". He said on her ear while his hands continued their exploration. "I love your lips…" He kissed her soundly. "I love your eyes." He said looking straight into her tearful brown eyes. "I love your nose…" He kissed the tip, making her giggle. "But most of all, I love your heart." He said with a serious tone, his hand pressing her chest right above her heart. "I love you so much Emily".

She couldn't prevent the little sob that escaped from her lips. Sometimes she thought she was dreaming, that sometime she would eventually wake up and found out that all of this was just a dream, that he never came back that first night, that he had stayed with Haley and Jack and that he never had kissed her or made love to her. She couldn't believe that this man was here, on her bed, covering her naked body with his naked body, kissing every square inch of her and professing his love for her.

He wiped her tears with his thumb and gave her another sweet kiss. "My Emily".

"I love you". She whispered. He leaned down and kissed her again at the same time he lined himself into her center and entered her. They made love slowly, carefully, whispering sweet things on each other's ears, caressing their bodies with touches and kisses, falling over the edge together, this time not with a fierce climax but with a gentle one, warming their hearts and filling the emptiness that both of them had inside, due to their difficult lives, their lack of lucky with the heart issues and their need to find someone capable of accept them, with all their flaws and weakness.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Much later, Emily slept peaceful into his arms, with a smile playing on her swollen lips. Hotch looked at her, contemplating how much his life had changed within the last few days. He had finally managed to bring his son back and give Haley the opportunity to rebuild her life. Again. But, even so, it was good. He had his sweet boy back and apparently she didn't hate him for what they've been through. And for that he was incredibly grateful.

His job… well, that could have been way much worse. He was suspended, again, without payment and with a new complaint on his file. But he hadn't been fired or even was going to pass for an investigation. So, it was good. And honestly, just as Emily had said before, they really needed that break.

And finally, _finally_ , he was with Emily. This amazing, gorgeous, intelligent, comprehensive woman. He never thought that he would fall in love again. After Haley, he was pretty sure that his life would be focused on his job and Jack until his death. He never thought that he would find someone willing to understand him, who would accept all his flaws, his bad moods, his frown, his stoic and cold way of deal with his issues. He never thought he would found someone that would actually be able to embrace his whole being and even more, love him.

But here she was. And God, she was so gorgeous. Not just on the outside, but on the inside too. She was incredible, compassionate, selfless and kind.

She was also damn stubborn and headstrong, able to driving him nuts with just a few seconds. But he had to admit to himself that he also loved that on her. It just proved how strong and independent she was, how she was always willing to fight with whoever was needed to get what she wanted or to defend what she thought it was the right thing to do.

The more he thought about her, more he found reasons to love her. As if he needed it.

The insecure and distrustful part of him still had his doubts. About if they were moving too fast or if he was doing the right thing. But he shoved that part inside. He was tired of being alone. He was tired of not having anyone to come home, anyone to make him company, to buy flowers to, to take to dinner, to spoil, to take care of. He was tired of spoiling his own happiness with his doubts and mistrusts. He didn't want to let this pass by. He wanted to embrace everything he was wining.

Despite of the common sense about him, he wasn't insensitive. He wasn't emotionless. He was as any other man who wanted a company for the difficult days. A company to celebrate the good things. He just had suffered so much in his life, on the hands of his father, that he had developed a hard shell, to protect his insides, to prevent from being hurt, and that shell also, the most of times prevent him from showing emotions too. But he felt, and he felt hard. And maybe, now with Emily, he could learn to show a little bit more of that. Because he knew that she deserved it.

He knew that she hadn't had a good and easy life too. He knew that she was deep bruised. He knew that she didn't trust people easily because she was too betrayed on the past. He knew that she had a lot of difficult to see herself the way she really was, beautiful. So, he knew that this little things, like always say to her how beautiful she was and reaffirm his love for her were essential to build the trust and connection they'll need into their relationship.

With all the work issue and Strauss always searching for a reason to damage their careers, he knew they would have more than enough problems on the outside. Not to mention the reaction of the team. He knew that Dave would be very supportive and maybe JJ too. Reid probably would be a little confused at first with the changes on the dynamics but he'd get used to it eventually. God only knows how Penelope would react, although he thought that maybe she would start to plan their wedding and honeymoon ASAP. His real concern was with Morgan. The dark profiler was way too much protective towards Emily and he didn't know how he would react at the reality of a relationship between them.

Probably would be the best for them to keep things under the wraps for a while, maybe until they got used with the changes on their routines and understood how to act on the field without any kind of problems. He'd have to talk to her about that later.

But one thing he knew for sure. He wouldn't risk this. He wouldn't make the same mistakes again. He wouldn't let this job, because it was just a job, to stay in the way of their happiness. Both of them deserved that. Both of them had been through so much on life to let the Bureau dictate with whom they'd supposed to stay.

He felt her stirring and heard her murmuring on his neck. "Everything is okay?"

He smiled and tightened his grip on her waist, planting a light kiss on her hair. "Everything's perfect, sweetheart. Go back to sleep". He said while closing his own eyes and snuggling closer to her. His last thought before sleeping caught him was _I won't lose this for anything._

 **A/N: So, did you like it? I promise that next chapter will be the dinner and we'll see Emily's interaction with Jack. Major alert for fluffy! I pretend to post it in two or three days, it all depends on your reviews. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! You guys really made me so happy with your reviews. I couldn't reply all of them but know that I really appreciate your support. So, here is finally the dinner at Haley's and the introduction to Jack. Some of you may think that I pushed a little Hayle's character on this but honestly I can't write a bad Haley on this story. I have a lot of issues with the way she treated Hotch on the show but I actually like her a little bit. So I'm not going to make her a villain here. Their problems will be others, with the work, the Bureau, and their own personal issues.**

 **Well, I hope you'll like it. Please let me know.**

Chapter 17

"Are you sure you're okay with this Em? I don't want to pressure you into anything". Hotch said while he was putting his dark-green polo shirt. He was already dressed in dark jeans and Emily was dressed in a purple t-shirt, a pair of jeans and sneakers. She was fixing her hair in a messy bump and putting some mascara and a light gloss. They were due to be at Haley's in twenty minutes for dinner and he could see that she was pretty shaken at the prospect, he just didn't know if it was Haley or Jack who was frightening her more.

"I'm fine, Aaron" She sighed. No, she wasn't. Far from it, actually. She was terrified. What if Jack didn't like her? What if he kept asking his daddy to come home? What if he thought she was trying to steal his father from him? That aside from the fact that having dinner two days after the beginning of their relationship at his ex-wife house was really weird. Creepy. And terrifying.

"Are you sure? You look like you're going to pass out." He said, meeting her eyes on the mirror while hugging her from behind. He placed a sweet kiss on her neck. "I'm sorry I'm putting you into this. If you want I can say that you were not feeling well and we can post-point this introduction…"

"No Aaron, it's just… what if he doesn't like me?" She asked with a furrowed brow, her eyes showing her insecurity. "And what if Haley it's not really okay with this? What if she wants you back?"

"Okay, first of all, it's impossible that he doesn't like you, sweetheart. He already thinks you're a superhero because you made the bad guy go away and saved his mother. And we're going to focus on him getting to know you right now, later we can talk to him about the nature of our relationship, okay?" She couldn't help but smile at this. "Secondly, it was Haley that pushed me into make a move on the first place. We talked a lot about this before I came home that night and she knows that you make me happy and she is happy for us". He turned her around to look deep into her eyes. "And third, even if she wanted me back, she wouldn't have me. I don't belong to her anymore. I'm yours, for as long as you have me. And I hope it will be forever".

He kissed her thoroughly until they were both breathlessly. Pulling apart she smiled at him and wiped the gloss from his mouth. "Okay, let's go or we'll be late".

Twenty minutes later they were parking in front of Hotch's old house. They got off the car and went towards the front door, knocking it lightly. Just a few seconds later the door swung open and the four-year-old boy jumped into his father's arms. "Daddy!"

"Hey buddy!"

"Jack Hotchner! What did I tell you about opening the door without me?" Haley said sternly coming from the kitchen.

"But it was daddy and Miss Emily!" The boy argued.

"You didn't know that. You're too small to look at the peephole. Don't do this again Jack, do you hear me? It could be someone else!" The boy nodded and she turned to the couple at the door. "Hey, I'm sorry. Come on in…" She gestured them inside.

"It's okay Hay. And your mom is right. No more opening the door alone, got it?" Hotch said to Jack.

"Got it, daddy" He answered solemnly.

They went to the living room and sat on the couch, Haley excusing herself to look at the dinner, leaving Hotch, Jack and Emily alone. The boy rambled about his day at school, talking about how much he had missed his friends and the new turtle they had as the class's pet. Hotch smiled at his little boy enthusiasm and at his girlfriend completely melted for him.

Several minutes later Jack suddenly jumped off the couch, telling them to not move and run upstairs. Less than a minute later the boy was back with a drawing on his hand. He handed to Emily and pointed excitedly to her. "Look Miss Emily! It's us! And you! You're a superhero!"

Emily looked at the drawing and felt her throat constricting with tears. There was a blond woman with a little boy and a dark haired man on one side and on the other was a brunette woman, whom she identified as herself, with her hands on her hips and something like a cape on her back and on the floor there was a man, the bad guy, knocked out. And at the top of the page was written with the boy's messy letters 'Super Miss Emily!'

She felt the tears pooling into her eyes as she looked at the excited boy. "This looks really awesome sweetheart!" She looked at Hotch and watched him grinning at them. He looked at her with a face that just said _I told you so_ , and she rolled her eyes affectionately to him.

Yeah, it turns out that he was indeed right.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The dinner passed uneventfully, filled with easy talk and Jack's rambles about silly things. They were finishing desert when Emily's phone started to ring. She apologized herself and looked at the ID, letting out a growl when she saw who it was. Hearing Hotch chuckling beside her she looked up and saw him look at her with amused eyes. "There's only one person in the world that can cause this reaction".

"You think?" She said sarcastically, excusing herself and going to the balcony to answer. Just before she left they could hear her saying. "Hello Mother."

Hotch continued to chuckle a little as Haley raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you don't know the Ambassador Prentiss. She is really remarkable".

"And you know her already?" Haley asked genuinely curious.

"I worked for her like fifteen years ago. It was one of my first assignments on the Bureau".

"Oh. So you two knew each other that long?" She asked nodding to the door where Emily left.

"Actually, no. She was at Yale that time. I think I may have seen her once at one of the functions her mother gave back then". He answered honestly. That was the truth but it was also true that this only time he saw her he thought that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Haley nodded quickly and started to collect the dishes on the table. Jack started to ask for his father to go upstairs with him to see the new toys he had gotten from his Aunt Jess and his grandparents the day before. "You tell Emily when she got in that we'll be right back?" Hotch asked. At her nod he went upstairs with a bouncing Jack.

Two minutes later, a very annoyed Emily entered the kitchen. She stopped on her tracks when she saw just Haley there. "Jack is showing him his new toys. They'll be right back". Haley said to her. She opened her mouth and let out a pathetic 'Oh', nodding her head slightly and standing awkwardly on the doorframe. Haley saw her struggling and chuckled. "You don't need to stay there petrified Emily".

"I'm sorry." She said sheepishly. "It's just…"

"Weird?" Haley offered with a smile.

"Yeah". She chuckled. "Thank you for inviting for dinner. I know it can't be easy for you too." She said.

"Well… it's not how I imagined my life would be, twenty years ago, for sure. But I love Aaron…" At the slightest widening of Emily's eyes she quickly added. "Not like that, I swear. I love him as the father of my child. I honestly don't think that I could have found a better one. But I'm not in love with him anymore. For a very long time. That's why it's not hard for me or not so hard anyway. I love him and I'll always will. And I want him to be happy. I wasn't capable of that. I didn't get this need that you guys have to hunt serial killers on regular basis and I just kept asking him to be someone he couldn't be. I couldn't accept him and that's why we didn't work".

"I'm sorry…" Emily said quietly.

"It's okay. It was good, very good for a while. I'm sure you already know what kind of man he is. It's pretty difficult not to fall for him."

"Yeah, I know. It's infuriating…" Both chuckled a little. "So, you're really okay with this?"

"I am. I know that you get him and accept him so much more than I ever did. The thing with Foyet was enough for me to know that, the way you protected his career when all I did was ask for him to abandon everything". When Emily opened her mouth to say something she raised her hand. "I'm not saying that you love him more than I did or that you're better than I am. But maybe you and Aaron make more sense than we did". She sighed. "I just want you to promise me two things".

"What is it?"

"First. I don't doubt you in any sense but I need to know that you'll be good with my son. You know you'll be a great part of his life from now on, maybe even his step-mom someday."

Emily's eyes widened a little at that. "Look, I don't know about that, but you don't have to worry. Jack is the sweetest boy I've ever met. There's no way someone don't like him". She said with a smile.

"Okay. Secondly, I need to know that you'll make Aaron happy. And mostly…" She shrugged a little and sighed heavily. "Mostly, that you'll honor him, that if this doesn't work you'll be honesty with him. You won't betray him. He doesn't deserve this".

Emily's jaw literally dropped at this. "You mean you…"

"Yeah." She nodded slightly. "I'm not proud of it. God, I regret it every single day. He never confronted me. He never fought with me about it. But I know that he was aware of it, and I know that I hurt him deeply. So promise me you won't do the same. He doesn't deserve that".

"I… I don't even know what to say".

"Just promise me".

"I promise". She said quietly. Haley nodded and they stood in a somewhat comfort silence until they heard the footsteps of the two Hotchner boys coming downstairs.

Hotch came into the kitchen and saw them both in silence and stood beside Emily, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Everything's okay?"

She smiled at him. "Everything's fine." She whispered.

"What the Ambassador wanted?"

"Oh, don't remind me." She groaned and he chuckled. "It was just her monthly call to make me feel like a loser, old and lonely, you know".

"And I already told you that you're not a loser, definitely not old and even less a lonely woman right now." He said to her, giving her a light kiss on her forehead. She blushed a little bit and leaned into his arms.

"That's right, when you're going to introduce Aaron to your mother?"

Hotch laughed a little and she just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. She would be so thrilled to know that I'm involved with my boss. It would be just perfect".

"Well, technically I'm not your boss right now". He added. She laughed and poked him on the ribs. They talked for a little more before deciding to say goodbye for the night. They left with another promise of a playdate with Jack, Hotch saying that since he was in suspension he would use his time to be with his son the most he could.

Getting into the car he looked at Emily and asked. "So, it wasn't so bad, was it?"

She smiled at him, leaning to give him a deep kiss. "No, it wasn't bad at all".

 **A/N: Let a review! You see how fast this was? Make me work even faster!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I know, I know it's been forever but I've been really busy. This is shorter than the previous, just a little chat about the team. Next we'll have a team's night out and then they'll be back to work. I'd really appreciate suggestions about the next chapters. Are you guys still with me? Should I keep going or just write the end and leave it?**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own them.**

Chapter 18

The following two weeks passed quickly for both Emily and Hotch. Practically all of Hotch's things had been moved into Emily's apartment and neither of them were talking about finding a new place for him. They passed all day watching movies, reading almost all Emily's book collection, sometimes they had Jack and took him to the park for a day out and he even have a sleepover at Emily's a couple of times.

They hadn't spoken to the team during this time, saved from a phone call from Dave to Hotch and a few texts from JJ and Garcia to Emily. On the Thursday from their last week of suspension they were having dinner at home, Chinese from Emily's favorite place, cuddling on the couch and watching Casablanca when Emily's phone rang. She reached for it on the coffee table and saw Garcia's name on the display. "Hey PG".

"Hey peaches! How are you? Enjoying the break from freaks and bastards sickos?" Garcia's excited voice came through the phone.

"Oh, you have no idea! It's so good that I think I'm going to call Strauss the Queen Ice and Heartless Bitch on her face to see if she gives me another two or three weeks". She joked, making Hotch let out a low chuckle. She widened her eyes to him and how put his hand on his mouth. 'Sorry' he mouthed.

"Uhhhh, who's that?! You're enjoying your suspension with some hot smoky friend Sugarplum?" Garcia giggled.

She rolled her eyes at the tech's words. "It's nothing Garcia. Did you call for something?"

"Ah, eager to hung up on me to go back to your little lover uh?"

"Garcia!"

"All right, all right. I actually called you to invite you to a team's night out tomorrow. My lovebirds just got back home from a particularly gruesome case and they're really down so I want to cheer them up. And also, I miss you gorgeous self and I want to see you before we'd be surrounded by death again".

She looked at Hotch and he gave her a curious look. "Tomorrow?" He mouthed 'What?' and she mouthed back 'Team's night out', which he nodded.

"Yeah, tomorrow. You think you can leave that hot stuff of yours for a few hours? Or you can bring him with you! Yeah, bring him!" Garcia squealed.

"I'm not bringing anyone. But yeah, I'll be there tomorrow. At Joe's?"

"Oh you are no fun Emily Prentiss! Yeah, at Joe's, by 9 ok? Hey, have you talked to our boss-man these days?"

"Hotch?" She asked looking to the man beside her. "No, not since last week". He grinned at her, leaning to nip her collarbone making her moan.

"Ohmygosh, did I just hear a moan?" Garcia asked excitedly.

"I'll see you tomorrow PG, bye!" She breathed out while Hotch kept nipping and sucking up to her neck and ear. She barely heard Garcia's complain before she felt his tongue on her ear making her moan loudly again. "Aaron!" She half moaned half whined to him, making him chuckle.

"Yes, sweetheart?" He asked innocently, his hand sneaking into her tank top.

"We… we didn't… we didn't finished dinner?" She stammered.

He pulled away just enough to look at her, his hand found her bare breast and started to stroke her nipple. "Are you seriously thinking about Chinese right now?" He proved his point with a little pinch on her nipple, making her whimper. "That's what I thought".

As he went towards her neck again she put her hand on his chest pushing him away. "No Aaron, wait". He pulled back frowning. "We need to talk".

He pulled away as if she had slapped him. "We need to talk?" He knew what this phrase meant and it wasn't good.

She realized what he was thinking and widened her eyes, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no, honey, it's not that kind of talk. I love you. We're never having that kind of talk". She said pulling him into a quick but fierce kiss to prove her words.

He let out a breath. "Good. That's good. I love you too". He said kissing her again. "So, what kind of talk you're saying?"

She straightened herself on the couch beside him, taking his hands with hers. "We have to decide what we're going to do about this" she gestured between them "and the team".

"Right". He nodded. He knew they would have to have this talk sooner or later. They were due to go back to work next Monday and he knew they have to decide either they would assume or hide their relationship from the team. "What do you think we should do?"

"Honestly?" He nodded. "I'd like to keep this just to us for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed, quite the opposite actually. But I don't think I can handle with the team cataloguing all of her actions and expressions all the time, profiling us and especially teasing about it. Of course they wouldn't go to you, maybe Dave, but the rest wouldn't have the balls to tease you. But with me it would be hell. I know that Morgan would tease me nonstop and Garcia would want all the details from our private life. I don't want that now. I want to enjoy us without being on a microscope all the time".

He knew that she was right. She would have the most of the impact if they went public to the team. "I understand Emily. And I agree with you. Honestly. Although I don't think we'd be able to hide from Dave. That man just knows about anything, God knows how".

She chuckled. "You're right. And he's the only one who knows for sure that I'm in love with you".

"You told him?"

"As you said, he just knows. But how we're going to do that since we're practically living together? Because Aaron, we are. All of your stuff is here now almost and I know that you're not thinking about getting a new place and I surely don't want you leaving. I know that you don't usually get visitors but I often have girls' night with JJ and Garcia here".

"Well… I could keep my place to keep up appearances and you could try to relocate yours girls' nights to Garcia's or JJ's or even some bars for the next couple of months. I really don't think we'll be able to keep this from them for too long. And when we come clean to them I'll get rid of my old place and we can make me moving here official".

"I think I can do that" She nodded. "But we have to be careful. We'll have to continue to take two cars to work and be careful to not arriving together. And you'll have to continue to treat me the same way, calling me Prentiss, not looking at me or touching me".

He groaned. "Then you'll have to promise me to not wear those damn red shirts on work. They drive me out of my mind". He said leaning to kiss her neck.

"Oh, you've been checking on me Agent Hotchner?" She teased.

"Yes, I have. But since I didn't have had a taste I could control myself. But now that I know how good it is and that it's all mine and mine only I don't know if I can keep my hands off of you…"

She chuckled under his touch. "Ok, I promise. And you can't take off your jacket and roll up your sleeves too!"

He chuckled now. "Deal. So, we're done talking?" He asked raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"God, you're insatiable!" She breathed, already feeling her cheeks flush in excitement at his gaze.

"You know I am. And I didn't think you were against it…" He said nipping her earlobe.

"Oh god, I'm not. Most definitely".

"Good". He said taking her mouth in his. And just like that, Chinese, cellphones and the team were forgotten.

 **A/N: Sorry for any errors. It's really late here and I'm almost sleeping. Let a review pretty please! If you do I'll update again until friday. Maybe we can get to one hundred reviews?**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the delay on the update. Thank you for all the reviews and the PM that I received. The next update won't take soon long. Here is the team's night out. It's a little short but the next will be longer and will be their return to work.**

Chapter 19

At Friday night Hotch and Emily were getting ready to go out with the team. They had decided that Hotch would leave first and Emily would go later and pick up JJ on her way. When Hotch was almost leaving his phone rang. "Hotchner".

"Aaron, where are you?" Dave's voice came through the phone.

"I'm just leaving to the bar. Why?"

"Leaving from where exactly?" He asked.

Uh oh. He widened his eyes to Emily who just frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am at your apartment right now and you're not here, of course, and honestly this place looks like no one had been here for several weeks". He said. Oh shit. "So, where are you spending your off time?"

He looked at Emily with a questioning look and she just shrugged, indicating for him to put it on speaker. "I honestly thought that we'd have more time before you found out Dave, but of course it wouldn't be you otherwise". She said through the phone and he just chuckled.

"Oh Bella, so good to hear your voice. So you finally get your head out of your ass and found what was right in front of you Aaron?" He asked.

"You could put it that way". He chuckled.

"And you two are living together already? Do I hear wedding bells? Babies crying?" He teased, making Emily choke with the water she was drinking.

"Whoa. Slow down buddy…" She started to say just to be cut by Hotch.

"Yes, were living together and the other two, not yet but God how much I want it". He answered sincerely.

"Good for you my friend. So now we have to take your head out of your ass right Em?" He asked making Hotch chuckle.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Okay Dave, we'll see you at the bar. And look, we decided to keep this to ourselves for a little bit so, zip your mouth okay?" Hotch said.

"Well, I think that you won't be able to hide it for too long but okay. As your wish. Oh, and if you're worry about Strauss I have some cards on my sleeve that may be helpful".

"Thanks Dave, when time comes we'll talk. See you". He said and hung up the phone, turning to look at Emily again. Seeing that she was still looking at him apprehensively he approached her and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry if I frightened you. But I already said to you that I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to put a ring on your finger. I want to see you walking on the aisle with a beautiful white dress. I want to cry with you when we hear our baby's cry for the first time. I want to grow old with you. I'm making everything clear from the beginning. I'm in this for the long way. But I respect you and we'll take this by your speed. Right now, the fact that you agreed to be with me is more than enough".

She looked at him dumbfounded for a few minutes, her mouth opening and closing with letting any sound out. "I think I'm dreaming…" She finally whispered.

"No, you're not. I'm here and I'll always be here". He said leaning to kiss her. "Okay. I'm going. See you there?" He said taking his wallet and keys.

"Yeah. Love you".

"Love you more. Be careful, sweetheart. Don't take so long". He said and left, letting her at the middle of her living room with a wide smile on her face.

HPHPHPHPHHPHPHPHPHP

Forty minutes later most of the team was already on the bar, aside from JJ and Emily who texted Garcia saying that they were on their way. All of them were on the table talking and drinking when the brunette and the blonde agents approached the table. "Sweetcheeks, I missed you!" Garcia squealed putting Emily into a crushing hug.

"I missed you too Penelope". She chuckled. Going to the table she was greeted by the rest of the team. "Hey guys".

"Princess, how nice is to see your gorgeous self. And must I add" He said taking a double look on her outfit "you're even more gorgeous, damn!"

"Thank you Morgan". She chuckled giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hey Dave". She said eyeing the older man with a smile.

"Hello bellísima". He said getting up to greet her. "I think you just gave our friend a stroke with your wardrobe choice". He whispered on her ear.

"Good. That's the point". She said and they both chuckle. "Hey Reid, I can't believe I'm saying that but I miss your ramble every day".

He blushed when she kissed his cheek. "I missed you too Emily. The bullpen is empty without you".

"Good thing I'm coming back then right". She winked at him. "Hey Hotch". She said with a smile taking the vacating sit beside him.

"Prentiss. Good to see you". He smiled at her. Inside he was glaring at her. This wasn't the outfit she was wearing when he left. She was wearing a simple jeans and a navy t-shirt. Now she was wearing a black pencil skirt and a very tight and low-cut red t-shirt with black stilettos that were making this very uncomfortable on his pants. He continued his conversation with Rossi, taking a sip of his beer when he felt a hand sneaking on his thigh, making him choke. Suddenly there was a hand patting his back.

"Are you okay Hotch?" He turned to see Prentiss look at him with worried eyes. The little minx.

He glared at her while wiping his mouth with a tissue. "Yes, I'm fine Prentiss. The beer just went the wrong way". He gave her a look that said that she was going to pay him later for that and saw her smiling wickedly before look away. Turning back to Dave he saw the man smirking at him.

"You, my friend, are screwed". He said chuckling.

"Don't I know it". He said shaking his head.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

An hour later and several rounds of beers, they were all on the table when a bartender came with a drink and put it in front of Emily. "With the compliments of the gentleman on the bar". He said pointing to a blond, tall and handsome man that was smiling and waving at her.

"Ohh, princess is on fire tonight!" Morgan teased.

She chuckled and took the drink, giving back to the bartender. "You can thank the gentleman for me but please say that I'm not interested". He nodded and went back to the bar with the drink.

"Scratch that, princess it's picky tonight!" Morgan chuckled.

"Not picky Derek. Just… not interested". She shrugged. At the corner of her eye she could see her boyfriend smiling slightly and then she felt a hand on her thigh and a squeeze.

"That's because of that little friend of yours, Sugarplum?" Garcia asked.

"Little friend? What little friend?" JJ asked curiously.

"Oh, I called her yesterday and then I heard a man's chuckle and then I heard a moan and then she hung up the phone very quickly and breathlessly and it wasn't so difficult to guess what she was going to do, if you know what I mean".

"You go Em!" JJ joked and everyone laughed.

Emily blushed deeply. "Okay, can we stop to talk about my private life?"

"You are no fun Emily! Tell us how he is?!" Garcia asked.

"Yeah, princess, he's handsome like your favorite chocolate piece of cake here?" Morgan asked raising his eyebrows suggestively.

She snorted. "Oh honey. Believe me; you can't hold a candle to him".

"Uhhhhh. Tell us more, tell us more!" Garcia squealed.

"Pleaseeee". She groaned. "Can I just say that he makes me happy? Happier than I've ever been? I'm not ready yet to introduce him but you'll all know who he is soon because I know I will spend the rest of my life with him". She said seriously.

There was a silence on the table until JJ spoke up. "You're really in love, aren't you?"

She smiled and eyed her friends, her eyes lingering a second longer on the object of her love. "I didn't know what love was before I met him".

"Then let's make a toast! To Emily, to her happiness! And God help that poor guy if he ever hurt you because I will destroy him". Morgan said.

"I wouldn't have any different". She said raising her beer. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone said and clicked their drinks. When she clicked her beer with Hotch he looked at her and blinked lightly giving her a smile. She was right. He didn't know what love was before her, at least not in this way. And he would spend the rest of his life with her. That much he knew.

 **A/N: Let a review and give me suggestions about their return to work. You guys always help me to improve this. Thanks!**

 **A/N2: Sorry for any errors. I did this very quickly and didn't revised.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I know it's been forever but I'm back! This chapter shows their return to work and the episode 5x11. We have a bit of angst and some fluffy with our favorite couple. Hope you'll like it.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own them.**

Chapter 20

"The first case back, we won and you'll be home in time to pick up Jack for the zoo tomorrow, like you promised." Dave said as they were packing up their things at the station. It was the first case after he and Emily were back from their suspension. She was with Morgan dealing with the arrest of the unsub and they were taking care of the paperwork at the Police Station.

"We never figured out why Schrader killed Stacy Ryan. She had no connection with his daughter or his ex-wife". Hotch commented. There were a few holes on this case that kept bugging him.

Suddenly they heard the door opening and JJ barged in with her phone in her hand, her eyes wide and her face pale. "There has been an accident. Emily's at the hospital. Bunting is dead". And just like that the ground disappeared beneath his feet.

He frozen for two seconds until he heard Reid verbalize the question he had in mind. "Is she all right?"

JJ exhaled heavily. "She has a concussion".

"Is Morgan with her?" He managed to choke the words, trying to keep his professional façade. Deep inside, he was panicking. Was she okay? Was she unconscious? How bad it was? Bunting was dead… what the hell had happened?

"Yeah". JJ nodded and he breathed a little bit. Although he wanted nothing more than be with her he couldn't lose his focus right now and he knew she wouldn't want that. He also trusted Morgan to take care of her. He was very aware of the brotherly instinct the dark profiler had towards his girlfriend so he knew he would do anything to protect her.

"Where is Schrader?" He heard Dave asking. Right, Schrader. They still have a case to solution and he had to keep his mind on business.

"Northbound, on a truck". JJ answered.

"Truck?" Dave asked.

"He has a partner!" JJ exclaimed.

"What?" Dave said.

He breathed and assumed his Unit Chief position. "We need road blocks now".

"Do we have a tag?" Dave asked.

"Emily murmured something…" JJ said passing a piece of paper to him.

"Better than nothing". Dave said leaving the room.

"He could be heading to Canada. We need somebody who knows the area". He said to them.

"I'll get an officer". JJ nodded, turning to leave before he stopped her.

"And JJ…"

She turned back again already nodding. "Yeah, you want Schrader's face everywhere".

He turned to Reid. "Schrader was a bank robber. Now he murdered a woman, kidnaped her daughter and killed a cop".

"He's obviously more sophisticated than we originally thought". Reid agreed.

"He got a bigger plan. It's not just about getting his daughter and leaving the country".

"We never profiled he had a partner". He said.

He sighed and looked at the information on the board. "We don't know this guy, at all".

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"So he's not the hard-ass we thought he was". Dave said at the precinct where he, Hotch and Reid were discussing the profile. Hotch was trying very hard to focus on the case and Schrader but the only thing he had in his mind was that he wanted to kill the bastard for hurting his Emily.

"But if Jenny was what he wanted, he had her. He could have left". He said.

"Yeah, but we thought he'd took her to Canada, right?" Reid asked.

"That theory made sense. Why didn't he?" Dave said right the moment JJ entered the room.

"Pictures of the accident." JJ said passing the photographs to Dave and Reid. As much as Hotch wanted to see them he knew that if he looked at them right now he would lose it.

"Any word on Emily?" He asked JJ hoping to not show too much despair, when inside he was struggling. He would give anything to see her or even hear her voice right now.

"Apparently she is arguing with the doctors." JJ said partially amused.

 _That's my girl_ , Hotch thought. He fought against the smile that threatening to appear on his lips at the mention of his stubborn girlfriend. "That's good". He said with his normal voice.

Looking from the corner of his eye to Rossi, he saw the older man giving him a slight nod of his head. Being the only one aware of their relationship he must know just how much he was trying to contain himself and not run to the hospital to see her.

After he assigned JJ and Reid to follow a lead about Stacy Ryan, he found himself alone with Dave at the conference room. He buried his head on his hands and sighed. "How are you holding up?" Dave asked.

"I just want to see her. I need to know that she's okay". He said quietly.

"We know that she is okay, you heard JJ. Besides, Morgan is with her. She is not alone". Dave said.

"Morgan isn't her boyfriend. I am. I just need to…" He breathed. "I need her". He confessed quietly. "If something happens to her I don't know… I need her to breathe. Do you understand?" He asked looking up.

Dave could see the tears pricking into his eyes and smiled sadly at him. "You really love her, don't you?"

"More than I ever thought it was possible".

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Schrader's face is all over the news". JJ said to the three men at the room. It was twelve-eight am and Hotch was almost exploding with the need to see Emily.

"He's on the run for almost two hours and we are no closer to catch him". Hotch said in a mix of resigned and pissed.

"We have to find the partner". Reid said. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Hey".

"Hey, how are you feeling?" JJ asked and he turned quickly to see who was entering the room. The sight in front of him made his heart leap and clench at the same time. _Oh sweetheart._ Her face was pale and he could see the purple bruises already forming on her cheeks. There was a small cut on her forehead and her left forearm was bandaged up. She was limping and he could tell that she was feeling a lot more pain than she let appear.

"Like I just got hit by a truck". He heard her attempt to joke and never wanted so much to put her in his arms and soothe her. She was talking with Garcia and put it on speaker, not even looking at him, showing that she was all business. He wanted nothing more than hold her and to kiss her but he knew that it would have to wait. He tried to catch her eye to at least feel some comfort but she seemed determined to ignore him.

He sighed sadly. He knew she was trying not to lose it too. They both would have to wait until later to find the so needed comfort on each other's arms.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Schrader was dead, the family was safe and they were finally boarding the jet to go back home.

He was the last one to board and saw the team already settled on their sits. He saw Reid on the couch, probably preparing to sleep later. Morgan, JJ, Rossi and Emily were sitting at the armchairs around the briefing table, the first with his headphones, the two later looking through some papers and the later one staring at the window, with a lost look on her face.

He arched to be with her and was pretty hurt that she had chosen a sit where he couldn't approach her. Didn't she see how much he needed to be with her? Was she mad at him? He noticed that she barely looked the whole case after the accident. He wondered if he had done something wrong. He really thought that she wouldn't appreciate if he had left everything to rush to the hospital with her. But in reality that's what he wanted to do.

He sat at the single chair by the end of the plane and closed his eyes. He just wanted to go home.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Don't worry about the reports. It's Saturday. Everybody go home. See you guys on Monday". He said as soon as they reached the BAU. He saw everyone smile at the news and gather their things to head home.

He went to his office quickly to collect some things and when he was descending the stairs to the bullpen he heard Morgan asking to Emily if she wanted at lift home.

He was shocked when she said yes.

He watched them both going to the elevators and sighed. "What are you waiting to go home?" He heard Dave's voice behind him.

He shrugged. "I don't even know if I'm wanted at home. Or if it's still my home. She just left with Morgan. Maybe his support during this case and my lack of it had been clarifying to her. Maybe she found out that I'm really not worth it. That she could do better. I wasn't even there to take care of her when she needed. All because of a job". He said the words quickly in one breath, part of him resigned and shattered at how things had happened and the other part terrified and panicked about how he was supposed to go on.

Dave smiled inwardly. He knew that his friend's insecurities where going to make him play the worst scenarios on his head about the brunette's behavior. He had said it to her on the plane when Morgan and JJ were sleeping.

 _"_ _You know that he probable thinks that you're pissed with him right? He's probably already thinking if he will go home to find all his things packet by the door…" He said quietly to her and watched a sad smile appear on her face._

 _"_ _I know… but I can't talk to him. I can't look at him because I know that if I do it I'll break. I have to wait for us to be secured inside our home and away for any prying eyes". She whispered to him and he nodded._

"I think you should go home". Dave said again. When he saw him make no motion to leave he looked at him pointedly. "Trust me Aaron, go home. She wants you there".

He narrowed his eyes to him. "Do you know something? Did she talk to you?"

Dave couldn't help but smile. "Trust me. Go home".

He nodded and grabbed his go bag and briefcase and went towards the exit. He wanted to hold her so badly. He just hoped she'd let him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

She paced in the living room waiting for him to arrive. Morgan had dropped her home twenty minutes ago and she had changed into one of his boxers and a loose t-shirt and now was waiting for him. She knew that he was probably confused by her behavior towards him, maybe even thinking that he had done something wrong. She felt bad for making him feel insecure because she knew all the issues he had from his previous relationship, issues about his job and his cold façade. She knew he was probably thinking that he had failed her.

But the truth was that she needed him so damn much that she had to do this. She was so addicted to his voice, to his touch, his smell, that she knew that if she allowed herself to come any closer to him she would break and she would break right into his arms. And she couldn't do that.

She needed to collect herself and continue to act as the FBI agent she was and not like some weak woman who went running to her lover's arms at any problem.

But now, at this moment, she wasn't a FBI agent anymore. She wasn't Agent Prentiss. She was Emily. And she wanted her Aaron here, to hold her and make her feel safe.

She heard the key on the lock and her heart started to beat faster. She saw him enter the apartment and throw the keys on the table, his bag and briefcase on the floor. He looked up and she could she the frightened look on his face. She felt the tears starting to poll on her eyes and she let out a sob before racing towards him, throwing herself on his arms.

She felt him instantly wrap his arms around her frame and bury his face on her hair. " _Sweetheart_ ". He breathed against her. She now was sobbing uncontrollably, her face on the crock of his neck breathing his scent. "Oh, babe, I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry, I should've been there with you, I'm so sorry…" He whispered in her ear and she pulled back shaking her head.

"No, no Aaron, I wasn't expecting you to go. You did the right thing, this was our first test to either we are able to deal with our relationship and our work. I'm sorry if I made you think that I was mad at you… I'm sorry…" She said rising on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He kissed her thoroughly, savoring her taste and reaffirming to himself that she was okay, alive, in his arms.

"I just wanted to hold you, to make sure you were okay… I was so scared… I thought you were severely injured… I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. I love you so much, I need you…" He whispered while trailing kisses on her eyelids, cheeks, forehead and lips.

"I know, but I couldn't. If I let myself to go for you I would break and I couldn't. We had a job to do". She said looking to him.

He nodded and hugged her tightly on his chest. They stood on the embrace for several minutes before he pulled back. "Let's go to bed. I want to hold you all night and take care of you…"

Later that night they were on their bed, he sitting against the headboard only on his boxers and she lying between his legs, pressed against his naked chest. He was caressing her arms and planting sweet kisses on her hair when he heard her say with a small voice. "I saw him choking Bunting and I couldn't do anything…"

He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on her. "I know sweetheart, and I'm so sorry. But it wasn't your fault".

"But…" She started but he cut her off.

"No Emily, listen to me. You were injured, you weren't thinking straight because of the concussion, you couldn't have done anything babe. Don't do this to yourself… it wasn't your fault. It was Schrader. And he's gone. It's over…" He said firmly.

She stayed in silence for a few minutes before she turned to him and cupped his head with her hands. "I'm so glad I'm back home with you. For a moment I really thought I wouldn't make it".

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. When he opened his eyes she could see the moisture on his eyes. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're here. I don't know how to live without you anymore… just the prospect of being without you, it hurts so much Emily".

"I love you Aaron". She whispered.

"I love you too, sweetheart. So much".

They lay on the bed and curled around each other, both enjoying the feeling of the other, thankful for the gift of being together one more night.

 **A/N: Let a lot of reviews and maybe I'll post again very soon :)**

 **Are you still reading this?**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I'm back, and we reached one-hundred reviews! Thank you so, so much! I can't even describe how happy I am. I have a soft spot for this fic in my heart because I think it was the work were I evolved more and I also own that to every one of you, who encouraged me and helped me to improve this. Thank you very much.**

 **This chapter is completely diferent from everything on this story. We have a very stupid Emily and a very pissed and jealous Hotch. The result? The smuttest (is this even a word?) chapter on this fic or any other fic I've wrote. I hope you'll like it. Please, let a review! I've noticed a decrease on the number of views and reviews. Maybe you guys aren't following this anymore. I was planning to take this to at least thirty chapters but right now I'm thinking about making just three or four more. Anyway, you guys can prove that I'm wrong. You know what to do.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own them.**

Chapter 21

The team was working on a case on Michigan; teenage boys were being kidnaped, tortured and beaten to death. They had four victims so far and another boy had gone missing the night before. According to the MO they had seventh-two hours to find him alive.

Hotch was working on the geographical profile with Reid at the precinct while the others were on the field following some leads. Suddenly the grip on the pen on his hand tightened and his face hardened at the sound of a laughter coming to the room. He was sick of this. Since day one, when he had made the dumbest move to partner his girlfriend with one of the LEO's to go look at the latest dumping site. Officer Jackson had clenched on her like a plague and he was very close to take him to the alley beside the precinct and show him that she wasn't available.

But what pissed him the most was that she was giving him an opening. She laughed at his stupid jokes and even called him by his first name and allowed him to call her Emily. She knew he was pissed. She had seeing the change on his behavior towards her and he had noticed the knowing smirk she made sure to give him every time she was leaving or arriving with the deputy.

"All right James, I might want to test this theory later…" She said smiling flirty.

"Just say where and when, Emily…" He said grinning before turning around and going to his desk.

Emily entered the room just when Reid said he was going to get some coffee, leaving her alone with Hotch. "So, did you find something on the victim's house or did you two forget you had some work to do?" He said sharply.

"I don't understand your tone Hotch". She said innocently. Deep inside she knew she was playing with fire but she couldn't help it. She loved the jealous Hotch and she was having fun by seeing this controlled man struggling because of her.

"You don't…" He started with a raised voice before remember where they were. "Look Emily, I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I'd like to remember you that we're here to do a job, so even if you don't have any respect for me and for our relationship and want to keep flirting and playing with this officer or any other one in this or any precinct we are I just ask you to at least wait until we finish our duty. Excuse me".

She saw him pass through her to the exit, his head held up as always but he didn't fool her. She had seen the look on his face and he was hurt. Deeply. That second she remembered Haley's words to her. _I need to know that you'll make Aaron happy. And mostly that you'll honor him, that if this doesn't work you'll be honesty with him. You won't betray him. He doesn't deserve this. I'm not proud of it. God, I regret it every single day. He never confronted me. He never fought with me about it. But I know that he was aware of it, and I know that I hurt him deeply. So promise me you won't do the same. He doesn't deserve that._

She closed her eyes and sighed. Oh God, what did you do, you stupid girl?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The rest of the day was tense to say at least. Hotch barely look at her and she was feeling her chest arch at the thought of hurting him. And to make everything worse Morgan had started to tease her about the officer. "Hey Prentiss, Officer Jackson was asking for you earlier. Oh no, sorry, he was asking for _Emily_ ". He said smirking. "I thought you had your boo at home waiting for you".

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I do, Derek. Please, stop".

"I'm just teasing you, Princess…"

"I know, but stop". She said and got up murmuring she was going to get some coffee.

Dave saw how distressed she was and how his friend was trying very hard to stay focused on his file, ignoring the discussion around him, and followed her. "Everything's okay, Bella?"

"No Dave, I'm stupid. I started this stupid game with that stupid officer because I was stupid enough to think it was funny to make him jealous and I just managed to hurt the man I love more than anything in this world, just because I'm so fucking stupid". She blurted on one breath, tears on her eyes.

"Oh sweetie. I'm sure you just have to talk to him and clarify some things…" He started but she shook her head.

"No Dave, I really hurt him. He said that I didn't have any respect for him or our relationship and he's right. I didn't honor him…" She felt one tear roll over her cheek and the Italian man wiped with his thumb. "I just hope I hadn't screwed up everything".

"You didn't sweetie. He loves you too much to let something like this come between you two. You should have seen how he was when you were involved in that accident last month with Schrader. He was terrified Emily. He said he didn't know how to live without you… just wait, when you get home, talk to him. You didn't betray him. You just…"

"I just played with his feelings, dismissed our relationship, let some random guy flirt with me shamelessly and encouraged him. I just act like I was still single, like our life together didn't mean anything to me". She finished. "I love him so much Dave. So fucking much, I don't know how to live without him. I can't live without him. Why did I do this with him, Dave?"

"Everyone makes mistakes, cara". Dave said patting her back. "You just have to figure how to fix this…"

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The flight home was hell to Emily. He was the first one to get on the plane and made sure to take the single sit on the end of the plane and pulled his files from his briefcase, burying himself on his work. She took the other single sit and Dave sat in front of her giving her a reassuring smile but she couldn't respond. She just closed her eyes and prayed to be able to fix this.

He dismissed everyone as soon as they landed, saying that since it was Saturday night the paperwork could wait until Monday. She wasn't surprised when he went to his car without even look at her when they reached the parking lot at the Bureau. Sighing, she went to her car and drove off to home, already waiting for either the fight they would have or the total indifference with what he would treat her.

She saw his car parked on their building and sighed with relief that he had at least came home to her. She opened the front door and entered the apartment looking for him. "Aaron?" She never saw the shadow coming from the corner until she was pressed against the closed door, her shirt ripped off in two seconds and two large hands covering her breasts and giving it a hard squeeze.

She looked with wide eyes at the hazel eyes staring back at her and gasped when one of his hands went to her pants and ripped her button off, zipping down and tugging the fabric forcefully down her legs. She kicked off her shoes and then her pants off completely. He buried his face on her neck and started to suck her skin hungrily, leaving marks all over her neck and shoulders, his hand going to her back to unclasp her bra, taking it off her body and throwing over his shoulder. She gasped again at the sound of the fabric tearing and at the cold air that suddenly came in contact with her center and then two of his fingers were there, roughly, starting already on a quick pace that had her moaning and coming in just a few minutes.

"Aaron…" She started to say but his hand came to cup her chin with force and his deep voice spoke for the first time since she entered the apartment.

"Shut your mouth". He spit the words on her face and her eyes widened even more. What the hell was wrong with him? Where was her sweet Aaron? Who was this angry and scary man that was looking with her with his face hard and his eyes dark.

He knelt down in front of her and placed one of her legs on his shoulder. "Hold on to me". He said to her and it was the only warning before he shoved his tongue on her center causing a shout from her. He sucked her clit and licked her folds quickly and efficiently, making her moan and whimper nonstop. He plunged his tongue inside her and thrusted in and out in a quick pace, bringing his thumb to press on her clit and she started to clamp her walls on his tongue, the force of her climax so strong that she almost collapsed on the floor, if it wasn't for his reflex to get up and held her by her waist.

He pushed her into the living room and before she knew she was bent over, holding the back of the couch with the little force she still had. She heard the sound of his belt and zipper and then he was there, big, hard and inside with one single forceful thrust, making her knees go weak again and her mouth part in a soundless scream.

He held her tightly against his body, on hand across her stomach, alternating between her breasts with pinches and squeezes, and the other on her center, flicking her clit repeatedly, while he was pounding on her hard and fast, his member so deep that she could feel it brushing on her cervix with every thrust.

The orgasm was so sudden that she nearly blackout but he didn't stop, just quickened his pace and started to rub her clit again. He couldn't possible expect her to come again, could he? "Aaron… Aaron, I can't'". She sobbed.

"You can and you will". He snarled and pressed harder on her clit. "Whose are you Emily?" He asked without slowing his pace. He really wanted her to speak? Apparently he did because suddenly she felt him tug her hair back fiercely. "I asked, whose are you Emily?"

"Yours, I'm yours!" She all but shouted and felt him smirk behind her ear.

"Yes. You. Are. Mine. Your heart, your head, your soul, your body, everything! You're mine Emily! Only! Mine!" He said, marking every word with a hard thrust, and she nodded helplessly, not being able to elicit a single sound anymore, saved from her moans and whimpers. "Come for me Emily. You have to come for me. Now!" He growled and she came, hard, this time actually blacking out, not even feeling him empting himself inside her, or pulling out and taking her limp body in his arms, carrying to their room and placing carefully on their bed, covering her naked body with a blanket and kissing her forehead tenderly before undressing and sliding beside her, taking her in his arms.

 **A/N: *wiping brow* *phew* Did you like it? Please, let a review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay guys. I'm pretty busy with work and took a little longer to finish this. On this chapter we have a introdution... How Hotch will handle the meeting with his father-in-law? Read to know! Hope you like it, let a review!**

Chapter 22

Emily woke up the next morning with the smell of pancakes, eggs, bacon and coffee. She slowly opened her eyes and flinched at the sudden clarity on the room. She blinked a few times before focusing on the form standing by the end of her bed, holding a tray with the food she was craving. "Good morning". His deep voice spoke and she saw him placing the tray on the bed and approaching her side, sitting on the bed close to her. He brought his fingers to caress her cheek and looked at her with a worried face. "How bad did I hurt you?"

She frowned at him for a few seconds before the memories of the night before came back to her mind. She tried to sit up on the bed and her whole body screamed in pain. Her back arched and her arms and legs were hurting. She felt strongly sore between her tights due to the roughness he had pounded into her. Her shoulder stung and she could see a bite mark. She looked up to him and tried to smile. "It's okay Aaron. I'm sore but… I think I deserve it".

"No, Emily, you didn't. I don't know what came over me. I've never done something like that. I was so angry and so jealous that I wanted to show you that you're mine, that you can't flirt with man out there because you belong to me. I felt so possessive and furious. I just saw red. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to hurt you". He said looking regretfully.

"I know babe. I know. And, honestly? Without the whole scary face part I kind of like it. It was definitely the most amazing orgasms I've ever had. I mean, I actually blacked out because I can't remember coming to bed". She said smirking, winning a slight smile from him.

"You didn't. I carried you". He said before getting up and taking the tray to bring it closer. "I made breakfast. There are blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. The coffee it's just the way you like and there is orange juice too if you want it".

"Hmmm… it smells delicious. I'm starving. I think we burnt a thousand calories last night and we didn't have dinner…" She said taking a bite of the bacon.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too. And after we finish here I'll run a nice bath for us, with that salts you love so much". He said leaning in to give her a sweet kiss.

"Hmmm… that sounds perfect. Especially for the 'us' part. It's been a while since we had time to have a nice bath like that together…"

"I know babe… and I need one. I'm not exactly young anymore and rough sex isn't really easy. I think I almost hurt my back when I bent you over the couch…" He said and she laughed patting his cheek.

"Oh poor babe. We'll take care of each other then, okay?"

"Okay". He smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke. "Aaron?" He hummed at her and looked up. "I am sorry". She started and saw him open his mouth but raised her hand to stop him. "No honey, I'm sorry. I had no right to flirt with that stupid officer. I disrespected you and our relationship and I am so sorry. I saw you were jealous and I thought it would be fun to push your buttons a little. It was childish and needless. I hope you know that I would never, _ever_ , pursue anything with anyone while being with you, love. I saw how much I hurt you and I don't forgive myself for that. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I'm sorry for making you feel like I didn't care for our relationship and I'm sorry for hurting you…" She finished with tears in her eyes, which he wiped away with his thumb.

"It's okay sweetheart. It's over now… just, promise me you won't do it again. I can't take it Emily…" He asked with sad eyes.

"I won't. I promise you, I won't babe". And she sealed with a kiss.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Emily was sitting on the couch watching a rerun of old series when her phone house rang. Aaron had gone to Haley's to see Jack for a while and should be arriving home any time now with food. She screeched to take the phone and answered after the fourth ring. "Hello".

 _"_ _Hey sweetie"._ Anthony Prentiss voice came through the phone and she gasped, sitting straight with a grin on her face.

"Oh my god, daddy!?" She felt tears starting to prick into her eyes. It's been more than six months since she had heard his smooth voice and almost a year and a half since she had saw him. His job at the CIA made him travel a lot within missions and he was currently at one top secret and couldn't even call on regular basis.

Because of her bad relationship with her mother she had always been a daddy's girl. He was the one who spoiled her and to whom she went when she needed advice or just comfort. Unlike her mother, he was very proud of her and her career's choices, always supporting her when she started at CIA and Interpol and when she decided to join the Bureau.

 _"_ _Hey princess. How are you?"_

"I'm fine daddy. I can't believe it's really you. I miss you so much!" She said sniffing.

 _"_ _Oh, you do?"_

"Of course I do!" She said chuckling. "When will you come back? I miss you so much…"

 _"_ _Then open your door, darling"._ He said with a smile and she jumped from the couch and raced to the door, opening it quickly. "Hey pumpkin!" Her father's smiling face greeted her and she jumped on his arms.

"Oh God!" She gasped and the tears started to fall into her cheeks. "I can't believe you are really here… I can't…" She sobbed on his neck.

He soothed her caressing her hair and whispering on her ear. Pulling back he cupped her face with his hands and looked at her. "You look so beautiful sweetheart…"

"I missed you, daddy… come in, come in…" She said pulling him inside. They sat on the couch and she looked at him with a grin. "What are you doing here? When did you get back?"

"My mission ended two weeks ago. I came back and spent some time debriefing and tying some ends and now I have three weeks off before I'll be reassigned. So I thought I could come to see my little baby. You look so pretty honey…" He said smiling, caressing her cheek and brushing her hair off her shoulders. He glanced at the red and purple marks on her neck and shoulders and raised an eyebrow at her. She looked down and saw the marks, cursing herself for choosing a tank top to wear tonight.

"Ah… well… it's just… ah…" She stammered and blushed, making her father chuckle.

"I'd take that you're involved with someone? A vampire maybe?" He asked amused.

"Yes, I am… But not a vampire" She said chuckling.

"Are you happy?" He asked serious.

"So happy daddy. So happy…" She said smiling and he smiled back.

"Good, because I'm a CIA agent. I can do a lot of things, very bad things…" He said and both chuckled. Before either of them could say anything further she heard the front door opening. _Great timing, honey._

"Sweetheart? I'm home…" Hotch called from the door.

"In here, honey…" She called.

"I brought pizza. Pepperoni, just the way you like it… I'm sorry I'm late. Hay wanted to talk to me… Jack sent his love and…" He stopped dead on his tracks and looked at the very familiar man sitting on the couch with his girlfriend. "Mr. Prentiss?"

"Agent Hotchner?" He said, raising a questioning eyebrow to Emily. "So, you're the vampire?" He asked amusedly, holding his hand to Hotch.

"Vampire?" Hotch looked confused shaking his hand until he looked at Emily's flushed face and down her marked neck, realization downing him, his face paling. _Oh dear God._ "Ahh… Yeah, about that…"

Mr. Prentiss chuckled and waved his hand to him stop his stammer. "It's okay son, I've already embarrassed Emily about it and I just couldn't lose the opportunity to do the same with you…"

"Not funny, daddy". Emily scowled at him playfully, sneaking her arms around Hotch's waist and raising on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "Hi".

He got out of his trance and look at her beautiful eyes, unable to hide his smile at her. "Hi".

"Everything's okay with Jack?" She asked bringing him to sit beside her on the couch.

"Yeah, everything's fine. He sent you this… Said you have to put on your fridge…" He handed her a draw of the three of them on the park, much like their last playdate.

"Fridge? This baby is gaining his own frame!" She said brightly and he chuckled, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"So, Mr. Prentiss, Em told me you were away on a mission for more than a year…" Hotch said leaning down on the back of the couch and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Eighteen months. I just got back and have three weeks off. I actually came to ask if my daughter wanted to go on a small trip with me. I know for a fact that a very old man is dying to see her again on the French Alps…" He said smiling at her.

"Grampa?" She asked excitedly.

"Hmm hmm. I called him yesterday and he said he miss you very much…"

"I miss him too… but I don't know if it's a good time for a trip…" She said regretfully.

"If it's about the job, don't worry babe. I already talked to Strauss yesterday and we're out of rotation for a week. So if you want you can take a couple of days off. Thursday and Friday maybe. Then you'd use the weekend and would have four days off. It's not much but it's better than nothing…" Hotch said seeing her face brightening.

"Seriously?"

"Of course… I think your boss will be fine with that…" He said and she chuckled.

"Thank you honey!" She exclaimed and cupped his face to give him a kiss.

"Thank you Agent Hotchner…" Her father said smiling.

"Please, it's Aaron, sir."

"Then it's no sir, just Anthony".

"I'll try". He nodded. "Are you joining us for dinner? There's more than enough pizza". He asked.

"Yes, please daddy…" Emily asked hopefully and grinned when he nodded. "I'll pick the napkins and the beer".

"So, Aaron… How long are you living with my princess?" Anthony asked.

"We're living together for almost four months… But we're together for just two". He saw him raise an eyebrow and explained. "I was attacked at my apartment by an unsub. He stabbed me and I almost died. I couldn't stay at my place because of my recovery and my safety so Emily offered a room here…"

"I see. And did you catch this man?"

"She did". He said proudly. "He targeted my family. I had to put them on protective custody but he managed to take them and almost killed my ex-wife. Emily shot him down".

"That's my girl…" The older man said. "And how did you two get together?"

"I've loved her for a while… It's kind of heart not to when you know her… But I've always put my job first, which caused my divorce… But when you pass through something like that… I almost died… I know I couldn't keep post-pointing my happiness because of something that will not be forever… Someday I'll have to retire and then what would I have for the rest of my life? So, I took a chance… Thank God she felt the same…" He chuckled.

"Yeah, you left me waiting a long time… that's not a gentlemanly thing to do…" She said coming back to the room with a bunch of napkins, a knife and three Heinekens.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart…" He said smiling and helping her with the things.

She smiled and kissed him. "I forgive you…" They served the pizza and opened the beers. "So, what did Haley want to talk with you?"

He groaned. "Oh… she wanted to say that she's kind of dating".

"Really?" She asked surprised. "That's great…" She said before looking at his face. "Oh, please tell me you won't be all super protective about it?" She said amused.

"Already gave his name to Garcia run his background". He nodded and she snorted. "What? I have to. He'll be on my son's life on regular basis. And I care about Haley; it's not any guy who is good enough for her…"

"I know babe, but take it easy…" She patted his cheek and he nodded.

They finished the beer and the pizza and talk about Emily's childhood, their jobs and other topics until Anthony got up saying he had to leave. "It was very nice to meet you properly Aaron. Take care of my pumpkin, please…" He said.

"With my life, sir. It was nice to meet you too. Feel free to pass by anytime while you're still in town…" Hotch said and took the pizza box and the bottles, going to the kitchen to give the father and daughter some privacy.

Emily smiled at her father and hugged him tightly at the front-door. "Thank you for coming daddy… I've missed you so much". She pulled back and looked at him. "I love you, daddy".

He smiled tearfully at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you too, sweetheart". They planned to leave for their trip on Wednesday evening, right after she got out of work and would come back Sunday night. She gave him a last kiss on his cheek and watched him go with a smile on her face. She closed the door and turn around to see Hotch watching her from the door frame on the kitchen.

"I miss him so much". She whispered painfully and ran to his arms when he opened them invitingly.

"I know you do, honey". He said caressing her back. "Let's go to bed…" He whispered and directed her down the hall.

 **A/N: Next chapter is Emily's trip.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey, sorry it took me so long! Extra long chapter to make it up to you guys! This is the day before Emily's trip. We have a little surprise and some smut :) Hope you guys like it! More reviews make me write faster, have that in mind! Maybe the new chapter comes this week. Maybe not. Your call!**

 **Disclaimer: I own Anthony Prentiss.**

Chapter 23

It was Tuesday morning and the team was working on some paperwork in the BAU. Hotch was trying to focus on his files but one thing was preventing him to do it. He looked took a small piece of paper off his pocket and looked at the number for a few seconds before dialing on his cellphone. It rang two times before he answered. "Prentiss".

"Mr. Prentiss? It's Aaron Hotchner, sir". He said nervously.

"Hello son… is everything okay with my daughter?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes sir, everything is perfectly fine. I actually wanted to talk to you about something before your trip. Are you free today? Maybe we could meet through lunch? Around noon?"

"Oh, that's okay. Where would it be?" He asked curiously.

"Capital Grill?"

"Okay. Are you sure everything is fine, Aaron?" He asked again.

"Yes, sir. Everything is okay, just… please don't mention this with Emily, okay?"

"Okay?" He asked cautiously.

"I'll explain everything on lunch. Thank you sir…" He said and they hung up. Hotch let out a breath. He had managed to get Anthony's number from Emily's phone the night before. He had a plan to put in motion while Emily was away but before that he had to talk with her father. He looked at his watch and saw it was almost eleven already. He got up and went to his old friend's office, knocking lightly. "Hey, you have a minute?"

Dave looked up from his file and smiled. "Sure, come in". He motioned to him and closed his file to give his friend attention. "What's up?" Hotch looked a little nervous and Dave frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I need your help…" He started. When Dave nodded to him he took a deep breath. "Em is going for a trip with her father Wednesday. They'll be on The French Alps until Sunday and while she's away I want to take care of something…" He said. Dave raised his eyebrow and urged him to continue. "I want to ask Emily to marry me".

"Are you serious?" Dave asked surprised.

"Yes. I know we've been together for just two months but I don't want to wait. I don't see why wait. We are not young anymore and I don't see why I have to wait I don't know how many months more to do something I'm sure I want right now. I love her. I love her like I never thought I could love someone. And I want it all…"

"You are right. You too are made for each other and you should have been together for much longer if it wasn't for your stubbornness. I'm happy for you my friend. For both of you… do you want my help to choose the ring?"

"No, I'll take care of that but… after I ask her and, if God help me, she says yes, I don't want to hide this anymore. You said when we needed to come clear to the Bureau you could help us. What did you mean?"

Dave nodded smiling. "This frat rules are always broken Aaron. The director himself is married with one of his direct subordinates. She resigned two years ago but when they got married she still worked here right under him. I know Strauss is just looking for an excuse to fire you but the director is an old friend and if he intervenes she can't do anything. Of course you won't be responsible for decisions towards her on the field or her evaluations but since I'm a senior agent too I can do that".

"So you think you can talk to him?" Hotch asked hopeful.

"Of course. I'll give him a call and ask him for a drink this weekend". Dave nodded.

Hotch smiled a full-dimpled grin and got up to hug his friend. "Thank you Dave. I don't know how to pay you for that…"

They pulled apart and Dave just shook his head. "You don't have to pay anything Aaron. That's what friends are for. Just make her happy and I'm happy too…"

"Thank you, really… I have to go. I'll go to lunch with Emily's father. I want to ask for his blessing first".

Dave smiled at his friend. "You're really a good man, Aaron…"

Hotch just nodded and go back to his office, ignoring the curious looks from his team on the bullpen. He knew he couldn't wipe off the smile on his face and it was uncharacteristic of him but he didn't care. He was happy. Screw everything else.

He entered his office just to pick his briefcase and his jacket and left, nodding to JJ on his way to the elevators. She approached the others on the bullpen with a frown. "Where is he going?"

"Don't know. He went to Dave's, stayed there for almost twenty minutes and then came back with a smile just to pick up his things and left". Morgan said struggling.

"Smiling?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. With dimples and all". Morgan nodded.

"Maybe he has a date lunch". Reid said.

JJ and Morgan looked at each other for a minute before she nodded her head slowly. "Well, he had been a little less tense lately… and if he had found someone it's more likely that he would tell Dave about it".

"What do you think Princess?" Morgan asked Emily, who was staring at the hall of the elevators where her boyfriend had disappeared a few minutes ago.

She snapped her head back at her teammates. "Oh… I think… I think it's good for him… you know, if he found someone. He deserves…"

"That's true". JJ nodded frowning a little at the lack of excitement on her friend's voice.

Emily just sighed and turned back to her files. Where he had gone so eagerly and with a smile on his face and what he had talked with Dave? She shook her head slightly and focused on her files. She trusted in Aaron. He was indeed less tense but it was because she took care of that every night and almost every morning too if they had time. She didn't have a reason to mistrust him. So, she resumed herself to finish her files, ignoring the others and thinking about the great night she would have with her boyfriend.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch step inside the apartment and looked for his companion, spotting him on a table on the corner of the room. He approached him with a slight smile on his face and greeted him. "Mr. Prentiss… thank you for agreeing meeting me in such a short notice". He said shaking the elder man's hand.

"No problem, son. And please, it's Anthony". He said smiling.

The waitress came and took their orders, leaving them alone again. "Okay, Anthony. Thanks anyway…"

He nodded. "What can I do for you, son?"

Hotch looked down for a moment trying to find a way to ask his question. It had been twenty years ago when he asked Haley's father for his blessing and now, even with him in his early forties he was equally, if not even more nervous about it. He looked up again and stared the other man's eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking. "First of all, I'd just like to say that I really love your daughter, with everything that I have in me. Aside from my son, she is the most important person in my life. She's just so… wonderful and caring… she's so determined and stubborn and even when she drives me nuts I admire that in her… and she's so damn beautiful, like the most beautiful human being I've ever seen…" He said passionately, seeing the other man's eyes brightening at his speech. "I know I want to be with her for the rest of my life". He said and took another deep breath. "So, I'd like to ask Emily to be my wife, and I'd really appreciate if I have your blessing…"

Anthony's eyes widened at the young man's request. He knew they were together for just a couple of months but he could see the seriousness on his eyes and the strength of his speech showed him how much he was being honesty when he said he loved his girl. He saw his concerned face and smiled to easy the man's nervous. "I can see in your eyes that you're saying the truth when you say you love my Emily. And honestly, I've never seen my daughter as happy as she was that night in your apartment. I'm aware of how much she suffered because of man on her life and I'm really happy that she had finally found someone who is capable of appreciate her and take care of her. The fact that you invited me here to ask for my blessing shows me what type of man you are and I couldn't want a better one for my daughter. So, yes Aaron. You have my blessing as long as you promise to continue to keep my baby happy and safe for the rest of her life".

Hotch smiled widely and closed his eyes in relieve. "Thank you sir, thank you so much. And I promise I will do my best to make her happy until the day I die".

"Do you have a ring already?"

"No, I'm planning on getting one while she's away with you. I'll ask for my son's help". He answered smiling.

"Good, that's good". He nodded.

"I just hope she says yes". Hotch said nervously and Anthony just laughed.

"Oh, son. There's no way she won't say yes…"

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch got inside the apartment just after eight. He had a last minute meeting with the Section Chief and couldn't come home early like he wanted. Since Emily was going to her trip right after work they wouldn't have time to say goodbye the next day so he was really pissed that Strauss had taken away two hours of his time with her. He dropped his briefcase by the door and shoved his keys on the keychain. "Sweetheart?" He called Emily but was greeted by silence.

He went towards the kitchen but the lights were turned off so he knew she wasn't there. He got back and went to the stairs but something caught his eye right on the way. He looked at the black jacket on the floor and frowned. It was the jacket Emily was wearing that day. "Emily?" He called again but nothing. He spotted the stairs and his eyes widened at the sight of her red tank top threw on the first step. He looked up and could see her pants on the top of the stairs and smiled. He was starting to like where this was going.

He got upstairs and turned to the left, towards their room, finding her bra on the way. He approached the door and knelt down to take her red lace panties right by the door and brought it to her nose. Vanilla. He loved her smell.

He opened the door with a grin and found her laying in the middle of the bed, gloriously naked, playing with her hair. "I was starting to think that you wouldn't come, Agent Hotchner. I was getting pretty boring waiting for you…" She said with a husky voice and he felt his pants tightening.

"My apologies, my love. I was stuck in a dead-boring meeting with the wicked witch. I must say, this is a very good surprise…" He said smiling.

"Then why in God's name you're still over there completely dressed". She said huffing. He grinned at her and took off his jacket, quickly reaching for his tie. "Please, slow down. I'm enjoying the show".

"I really have no skills of striper". He said dryly.

"Don't care. Just love seeing you taking off your clothes. Shirt now, please". She urged him sitting straight.

He started then to undo the buttons of his shirt slowly, enjoying the hungry stare of his partner. He took off the shirt and went to his pants, unbuckling his belt and pulling down his zippers. He took of his shoes and socks before pushing down his pants, leaving him with just his boxers. He saw her lick her lips and slowly pushed the last piece of cloth down his legs, freeing his throbbing erection and approached the bed. "Happy now?"

"Very much so. Now, come here". She said kneeling on the bed and grinned wickedly at him. When he was close enough she took his hand and tugged him forcefully, pulling him down on the bed on his back and straddling him. She took his member in her hand and stroked very slowly, grinning larger at the moan he emitted. "We have four days of sex to stock. Let's not waste more time, right?" She said husky and then his eyes rolled out on his head because her mouth was on him, tasting him, sucking him, and licking him like he was the best Popsicle on earth.

"God, Emily". He groaned and she just hummed at him, sending more waves of pleasure on his cock. He put his hand on her hair and started to guide her, not that she needed. She continued her slow torture for several minutes, moaning at the first drops of pre-cum started to appear. He gasped and moaned and whimpered every time she changed her tactics and brought him closer to the precipice. "Emily, you have to stop…" He said with a growl when he felt his climax nearing too much and tugged her up by her hair but she just sucked him more forcefully, her hands stroking the base of him quickly and then caressing his balls. "Emily…" He growled again but she just hummed at him, ignoring his grip on her hair. "Fuck, Emily, I'm gonna…" It was the only thing he managed before he exploded in her mouth, gasping when he saw her swallowing every single drop and then cleaning him completely, giving a last kiss on his head before hovering him and taking his mouth on hers in a fierce kiss.

"Hmm… Delicious…" She moaned as she pulled apart, grinning at the shocked and completely satisfied look on his face.

"Oh my god, that was amazing…" He whispered hoarsely, trying to control his breathing. "You are amazing…" He said looking at her and flipping her into her back, covering her body with his and shoving his tongue on her mouth, kissing the air out of her. "And now…" he said pulling back and grinning "it's my turn…"

As he made love with her body with his tongue and enjoyed the little noises she was making he knew for sure. He was going to marry this woman.

 **A/N: We have a marriage on the way! Next chapter, Emily goes, Hotch talks with Haley about his proposal and buy a ring!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hello! Before anything I'd like to apologize but I need to answer some reviews that had been posted on my fics, not just here, but the person doesn't have an account so I can't send a PM. I don't know what your problem is with me, honestly. If you have so much trouble reading my writing why do you keep reading? Just stop it. When I read something that I don't like it just stop wasting my time with it. If you can't understand a word of my stories, don't read it. I take constructive criticism but your reviews aren't it. I know my English isn't perfect and I appreciate when someone sends me a review pointing that I wrote a word wrong or that I should change something in my wiriting. That's why I use quotations now, even if I'm not used with them. But you saying that my English is awful and that ANYONE can understand my stories is a lie because even though I know it isn't perfect I know that if it was so bad I wouldn't have so many views, so many reviews and followers and favorites. If it was that bad I would get lots of bad reviews and I don't have it. So if you keep insulting me with your comments I will keep deleting them because it's my right to not want someone denigrating my fics. And also, can you stop accusing me of copying from other authors? The ONLY fic I used another one as an INSPIRATION was Oblivion and I asked for kbrewster permission before I even started. But this one and Prince Aaron? And my other fics? Please send me the link of the stories you THINK I'm copying because I would like very much to read them. Stop making false accusations. I can't even say that I'll report you for it because you don't even put a name on your reviews. To finish, just saying again. I don't force anyone to read my fics. I started to write because I wanted to improve my English and I know I'm succeding. And I won't stop writing just because you don't like it. It is pratice that improves, so I'll keep praticing. If it bothers you so much, don't read it. If you send a review with suggestions or really constructive criticism I'll be happy to atend you. Also, you don't need to write dozens of reviews saying the same thing. I understood you on the first one. My English isn't that bad.**

 **Anyway, here is another chapter, and it's pure fluffy. The next one will come next week and I will wrap this in just three more chapters. I have another ideas, MY ideas for other fics and I want to finish this and Oblivion before starting something new.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own them.**

Chapter 24

On Wednesday afternoon the team was finishing the briefing and Emily was eager to go. Her father was going to pick her at the office and they were going straight to the airport. Just as Hotch finished the briefing she started to grab her things. "So, that's it? Can I go?" She asked excitedly and he chuckled.

"I don't know, I think I need to see some things with you about your last report". When she huffed and glared at him he chuckled again. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Go ahead, have fun. See you Monday".

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are the best boss ever, just the best!" She said smiling at him and hurried out of the room.

"She got two days off? Why?" Morgan whined.

"Because she asked me. It was a good reason". Hotch answered shrugging. "That's it for today. See everyone tomorrow…" He said taking his briefcase and leaving the room. He had asked Haley if he could come over tonight to see Jack. He also wanted to talk to her about his plans with Emily. He wanted to take Jack on Saturday to choose a ring.

He parked in front of his old house and went to the front door, knocking it. Haley answered smiling and invited him in, saying that Jack was upstairs on the bathroom. "Where's Emily?" She asked.

"Probably catching her flight. She's going to the French Alps with her father until Sunday afternoon. They're going to visit her grandfather". He answered following her to the kitchen.

"Oh… so what are your plans for the weekend?" She asked while taking care of the dinner.

"Actually that was one of the reasons I asked if I could come over today". He started. "Tomorrow and Friday I'll have to work but if you let me I'd like to take Jack for the day on Saturday".

"Of course, Aaron…" She said nodding.

"Well… I'd like to take him to help me to choose a ring". He said and saw her look up at him with wide eyes.

"Are you going to propose?" She asked shocked.

He looked at her a little apprehensive and nodded. "Yes… I had lunch with her father yesterday and asked his blessing and I'm already planning something to do when we come clean with the Bureau. I know we're not together so long but I really love her… and I honestly don't see why I have to wait when I know what I want right now. We're living together already and I want to make it permanent…"

"Wow… I really didn't see that coming…" She said chuckling. "Well, I knew you two would get married but I didn't think it would be so fast".

"What do you think?" He asked her seriously.

"What do you mean what do I think?" She asked frowning.

"What do you think about me marrying Emily? She'll be Jack's step-mother, you have every right to have an opinion".

She looked at him smiling and shook her head. "I think it's great". She started and saw the shock on his features. "I can see how much she makes you happy Aaron. Why would I have a problem with that? I think you both deserve this and I think you couldn't have picked someone better to be Jack's step-mom".

He let out a breath and smiled. "Thank God. I was hoping you would be supportive but actually hearing it's really good".

She chuckled. "I really want you to be happy Aaron. I'm also meeting someone and it would be really mean if I tried to impose you on something like that".

He smiled and nodded at her. Everything was going out perfectly. His next step would have to wait until Saturday and he could barely wait.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Saturday afternoon came and Hotch was with Jack looking for Emily's ring. He had explained to his son what he pretended to do and he was thrilled with the idea of his father marrying Miss Emily. Hotch couldn't be more grateful that his son had taken his girlfriend so well. They were on the fifth jewelry and still hadn't found the perfect ring.

They were either too flashy or too simple. He wanted the perfect ring. He wanted something simple but sparkling, something that would fit perfectly on her beautiful finger, something unique, graceful, beautiful, just like her.

They were almost leaving the store when Jack spotted something on the end of the vitrine. "Daddy, look!" He said pointing.

Hotch looked at the ring and smiled. It was a simple princess-cut diamond on a silver band and in each side there were little rubies incrusted. It was perfect, simple and beautiful. And he knew she loved red. And he loved red on her.

He looked at Jack and nodded. "I think it's perfect, buddy. It's just perfect".

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Sunday evening came and Hotch was going insane. Emily called every night to speak with him but wasn't enough. The bed was empty and cold and he couldn't close his eyes without thinking about her, without wanting her, without craving for her. She had called that morning and said that she would be arriving by seven and he didn't have to pick her because her dad was taking her home. He looked at the clock. Seven-fifteen. Where was she? He was slowly going insane.

He heard the key on the lock and jumped from the couch just as she was stepping in. She closed the door and placed her bag by the wall, looking up at him with a bright smile on her face. He froze. Looking at her, so pretty, her cheeks flushed from the cold and her smile so big and shining, he just froze. He'd never seen such an exquisite creature and he asked himself how he had lived all these years without her.

"Are you going to just look or are you going to kiss me?" She asked lightly and his heart melted, his eyes watering and he knew, not that he didn't know before, but in that particular moment, he knew he couldn't live without her anymore.

He took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly, savoring her taste after so many days and enjoying the little mewls and whimpers she was making. He kissed her until he couldn't breathe anymore and then he pulled apart, taking the sight of her swollen mouth and fluttered eyes and smiled. "I love you".

She opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling brightly. "I love you too, so much". She whispered and leaned in to kiss him again. During the kiss he thought about his plan. He would to take her out for dinner in a great restaurant next weekend and then he would take her for a walk, stopping on the perfect place on the park, right under the moon light, and would knelt on one knee and ask her to marry him.

And suddenly, his plan didn't make any sense. Why he would wait until next weekend, praying that they wouldn't be called on a case, when she was there, beautiful, magnificent, right where he kissed her for the first time, where they passed so many good moments, where they professed their love for each other so many times. He thanked God that he had hidden the velvet box on the small cabinet on the living room because he didn't want to go to their bedroom and spoil the moment.

So he pulled back from the kiss before she could start to raise his shirt over his head and cupped her face with his hands. "I missed you so much… these days without you here were so lonely and so cold… it made me realize how empty my life is without you…"

"I missed you too…" She started but he interrupted her, shaking his head.

"These two months we've been together made me realize that my life doesn't make any sense without you in it. It made me realize that I don't want to live without you, not even a day, let alone the rest of my life. You taught me to live again Emily. You taught me how to make plans again, how to wish new things, better things for my life. You taught me that even if my first marriage didn't work it I can wish to make something new. I can wish to build something better. And I want to do that. And I want to do that with you".

He pulled apart just to pick the ring on the cabinet and saw her beautiful face change from confused to shock and then a bright smile starting the playing on her lips. He knelt down in from of her and grinned at the little gasp she emitted. "I know we've been together for only two months and I know it can seem too early but I know what I want and I know it from the first day, when I kissed you right here, in this room. I knew from that moment that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you like I never thought I could love someone and you make me the happiest I've ever been. And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my days trying to make you feel the same way". He opened the box to reveal the ring and smiled at her. "Emily Ann Prentiss, please, will you marry me?" He asked and she let out a sob.

Her mind was overwhelmed and she couldn't form words properly so she just nodded her head eagerly and sobbed when he put the ring on her finger and kissed it lovingly. He stood up and caressed her cheeks, wiping her tears with his thumb and smiling at her. "I love you" She managed to choke and when he kissed her she was sure she had never felt so happy.

 **A/N: Please let a review :)**

 **The next chapter will be angst, drama and hurt/confort. And maybe the team will find out about them. I'm sorry for any errors and I'm sorry again for my outburst my I have my right of reply.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Thank you all for your reviews and your support, I really appreciate it. Here is the 25th chapter and I can't believe it! We're reaching the end *pout* but we have some heavy emotions on the next chapters. I know I said this one would be angst, heavy and sad but I decided to extend their happiness a little bit and explain some things first. So, this one is still fluffy. But at the end you'll see that the next one will be hard so prepare your tissues! I hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own them.**

Chapter 25

Emily and Hotch were in their bed later that night. She had her head resting on his shoulder and sighed happily while he was tracing his fingers on the length of her bare back. She raised her hand and looked at her ring in awe. "I still can't believe it… we're engaged!" She almost shouted and he chuckled.

"Yes, sweetheart… we're engaged…" He kissed her forehead and sighed. "I can't believe you said yes… I really hoped you would…"

"Of course I would say yes, you silly!" She poked him playfully. Suddenly, she remembered of the commotion on Tuesday at lunch. "Wait, that's why you were smiling on Tuesday, when you went to Dave's office?" She asked raising her head to look at him. "Did you go ask for his help?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah well, I went to tell him what I was planning and ask for his help but not for what you're thinking… Jack was the one who helped me to choose the ring".

"So… Haley knows?" She asked carefully.

"She does. I had to tell her… she has the right to know that you'll be Jack's step-mother". He said nodding.

"Wow. Step-mother…" She said with wide eyes. "I'll be a step-mother…"

He chuckled at the terrified look on her face. "Yes babe, Jack and I are a package deal. Are you backing down?"

"No way!" She said quickly and kissed him. "I love you both. I guess it just sank everything, you know".

"I know sweetheart…" He said smiling at her.

"So, you were asking Dave's help for what?" She asked frowning.

He looked at her carefully, thinking about the best way to approach the subject. He sat with his back on the headboard and brought her to sit on his lap. "I asked him to help us to deal with the Bureau, like he said he could when we decided to reveal our relationship…" He saw her eyes wide. "I know you're still anxious about this but babe…" he said taking her hand and touching her ring "I really don't want to hide this. I'm so… I'm so happy, Emily. We're not doing anything wrong, why do we have to hide like we were?"

"And what can he do for us?" She asked after a while, sighing, and Hotch frowned at her.

"No Emily. I don't want you to do this because I want to. If you don't want people to know about us, okay. I won't force you. I want it but if we're doing just to do my wishes we're doing for all the wrong reasons…" He said looking at her hand.

She looked at his face and saw that even though he was saying it was okay, it really wasn't. Why she was trying to hide such happiness? Like he said, they weren't doing anything wrong. They were in love, they had the right to live that love. Smiling, she cupped his face and tilted up to look into his eyes. "I want to do it…" When he opened his mouth to say something she shushed him. "I want to tell everybody that you're mine, that you make me the happiest that I've ever been. I want to be able to go out with you on dates without having to worry if someone will see us. I want to be able to go out with the team and arrive with you and be with you all night, holding your hand and dancing with you, hearing all the jokes they'll do about us… I want to get married with you and build my life with you and I don't have to hide this from anyone. I love you. And I want that everyone knows that…"

He had tears in his eyes and he wasn't ashamed of that because she had just said everything he always wanted to hear from her. "I love you so much…" He whispered and caught her mouth on a deep kiss.

Pulling apart she moaned throatily, caressing his cheeks and his swollen mouth. "Okay… so, what did Dave say?"

"He said he knows the Director personally and he would give him a call to have a drink this weekend. According to him, he got involved with a subordinate too and married her. She retired two years ago but they spent some time still working together after they got married. So, he said he would talk to him and see if he could get his okay to us. If he does, Strauss can't do anything against us. He was very confident about it…" Hotch said smiling.

"That's great, babe! So he'll tell you how it went tomorrow?"

"Yes… and then, after that we can go report to Strauss…" He nodded.

She tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Okay, that's great. But before that I think we should tell the team… they will be pretty pissed with us already, I think we own them that…"

"I agree. What do you suggest?"

She smiled mischievously at him. "Well… I think we should have dinner here next Friday night. But obviously I won't spend the whole week without wearing my beautiful ring, so…"

"So, you'll torture everyone, especially Garcia, until next Friday to tell them who is you new fiancé…" He completed chuckling. "You're evil, Emily Prentis…"

"Nuh uh, Emily Soon-to-be-Hotchner, sweetie…" She said smugly and smiled at the total dumbstruck look on his face.

Finally he managed to open his mouth and choke a few words… "I love you… so damn much…"

Words after that weren't needed.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Holy shit!"

The team was gathered in the conference room to brief their new case when Garcia's squeal silenced the room. Emily was trying to stiff her laugh behind her cup of coffee and Hotch was wearing his usual stoic mask, waiting for the interrogatory.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! There's a diamond in your hand!" Garcia squealed even louder, running to the brunette agent and grasping her hand, showing the engagement ring to the team.

"Whoa, princess, are you engaged?" Morgan asked shocked.

"When did this happen?" JJ asked excitedly.

Emily laughed at them. "Yesterday… he asked when I came back from my trip…"

"I thought he had gone with you…" JJ said.

"No, no, I went with my dad. We went visit grandpa". She said smiling.

"So, sweet cheeks, now that you're _engaged_ can we finally meet this mystery man of yours?" Garcia asked excitedly.

"Yeah, this Friday. Dinner at my place, everyone in, okay?" She chuckled and Garcia shrieked.

"Can I have a name, pretty please?" She asked but Emily shook her head.

"Nuh uh. You'll have to wait until Friday…" She said and chuckled when she pouted.

"Congratulations, belíssima!" Dave said smiling at her and taking her into a hug. "I'm very happy for both of you, sweetie". He whispered into her ear.

"Thank you Dave, for everything". She said quietly and tried to avoid the tears in her eyes.

"Anytime, cara. Anytime". He said winking.

"Yeah, congratulations princess! I hope this guy knows that he'll have to pass through the Derek Morgan's seal of approval". He said seriously at her.

"Of course, partner". She said fist-bumping him. She hugged Reid and JJ too, thanking their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Prentiss. He's a very lucky man". She heard Hotch saying and tried hard to hide the smirk on her lips.

"Thanks Hotch. But I'm the lucky one". She said eyeing him knowingly and smiled slightly when he blushed a little.

Hotch cleared his throat and caught everyone's attention to the case. "Okay JJ, what do we have?"

"We actually have two cases. One in New York and the other is local. First, three women went missing in New York, all blondes, on their mid-forties, all housewives. The husbands were always away on business trips and they went missing two days after their departure. The abductions have one week between them and no body was found so far. The NYPD doesn't have any clue to connect the abductions besides the victimology and this…" She said clicking the remote and showing a picture with messages wrote on blood saying 'If you were home this wouldn't have happened'.

"Apparently the unsub blames the husbands and their absence from home. It's clearly a message saying 'you weren't capable of protecting her' or 'it's all your fault'. The unsub probably had a father that was never home and maybe his mother was abducted or murdered". Reid suggested looking through the images.

"He has left more messages on alleys and public places saying that they have little time to save them, they were incapable of protecting them, that the women are his now, that they lost their right about them. They found some fingerprints in the messages but until now they haven't found a match…" JJ continued showing more pictures on the screen.

"What is the other case JJ?" Hotch asked.

"Oh… a French Ambassador received some letters on the past two weeks. They have death threats, copies of the entire his itinerary, suggesting that the unsub has knowledge about his routine and places where he has meetings. There are also pictures of the Ambassador at his bedroom, his office, having lunch at some restaurant and many others. Some of the letters are in English some of them are in French".

"Okay. Reid, Dave and I will go to NY first. Morgan, you're the specialist in obsessive cases so I want you here. Prentiss, due to your knowledge about diplomacy and because you're fluent in French you should stay here too. JJ, you still have contacts in NY, right?" At her nod he continued. "So I want you to deal with the press from here. I think you'll have more trouble with the Ambassador case so I think you should stay here too. It's not the ideal but we'll have to split up here. If one of the teams closes the case first they'll meet the other later. Morgan, you're responsible for this case but I want reports frequently, okay?"

"You got it, man". Morgan said grabbing his files.

"Dave, Reid, wheels up in twenty". He said grabbing his things and going to his office.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch sighed heavily as he entered his hotel room. They were in NY since two pm and had looked at all three crime scenes and all the places were the messages were left. If the unsub followed the pattern another woman would go missing in two days. The fingerprints hadn't helped in anything but the geographical profile was able to reduce the unsub's acting area and with their preliminary profile they were starting to have more information to Garcia's research.

A knock on the door startled him and he went to look who it was. Opening the door he found a smiling Dave holding a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "We weren't able to celebrate your engagement today…" He said and Hotch chuckled, allowing him in.

They sat on the armchairs and filled their glasses, taking a sip each. "I still can't believe she said yes…"

"You really thought she wouldn't?" Dave said smiling.

"I had hope, okay…" He answered and they both chuckled.

"So… anxious for Friday?"

"Not a bit. Emily was a little but we talked and she agreed with me that we don't have any reason to keep hiding our happiness from the others… Did you talk with the Director?" He asked nervously.

"I did…" Dave said mysteriously.

"And?" Hotch urged impatiently.

"And he doesn't have any problem with your relationship as long as it stays out of the office. I'll do her evaluations and in extreme situations you won't be able to make decisions towards her…"

"Really?" Hotch asked shocked.

"Really Aaron. When you two decide to talk with Strauss, if she put any problems just tell her that you have the Director's approval and if she has any problem she should call him…"

"Wow. Thank you Dave, I don't even know how to tell you how much this means…" Hotch said shaking his head. Before Dave could reply his phone rang and he smiled looking at the ID. "Hey sweetheart…"

 _"_ _Hi babe! I just got home. I miss you!"_ Emily's voice came through the phone.

"Miss you too, sweetheart. We just got to the hotel too. Dave and I are drinking some whiskey to celebrate our engagement…" Hotch said.

 _"_ _Oh… I want to celebrate too… but not with whiskey…"_ She said pouting playfully.

"Emily…" He said warningly.

 _"_ _I know, we can't have phone sex with Dave there. Send him away…"_ She ordered and he burst out laughing.

"I can't expulse him, babe. We own him big. He got the Director's approval…"

 _"_ _Really?! Oh my god, put me on speaker!"_

"Wait…" he said and pressed the speaker's button "there you go…"

"Hello Bella…" Dave greeted her smiling.

 _"_ _David Rossi, I love you!"_ She shouted through the phone. _"I even forgive you for not letting me have phone sex with my fiancé…"_ She said and both men laughed.

"There are some things I don't need to know, Emily…" Dave said chuckling and looked at Hotch with a look that meant _you're really one really lucky bastard_.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hotch, Dave and Reid were packing their things in the conference room of the NYPD's office. After two days they had found a suspect. Patrick Hill fit everything on their profile. He was a forty-five year old constructor, didn't have any close family or friends and his mother, a blonde, was murdered at home by a robber when his father was away for two weeks on a business trip. They had found his address and found the three women really shaken but not beaten. He had said that he had saved them from their husbands because they weren't capable of taking care of them properly.

"I think this was one of the quickest cases we've worked". Dave commented.

"That's true. I really thought the guys were going to finish before us. Do you have any news from them, by the way?" Reid asked Hotch, who shook his head.

"No, let me call Morgan". He said grabbing his phone at the same time it rang. "Oh, he's calling. Hey Morgan".

 _"_ _We got him, man"._ Morgan said breathless through the phone.

"Good. We finished here too. But the weather is really bad, I don't think we'll be able to flight today".

 _"_ _Oh…"_ Morgan said and Hotch frowned.

"What's the matter, Morgan?" Hotch asked and Morgan remained silent. "Morgan?" He demanded. He wasn't prepared for what the agent said, though.

"Emily was shot. It's not good, Hotch".

 **A/N: Tun dun dun dun! What will happen? Let a review and wait for the next one. Maybe I'll post it this week. If the reviews are good...**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hey guys. I am so very sorry for the delay. I've been suffering from horrible headaches these pass few days and it gets worse when I use the computer so I had to take a time-off. I'm really sorry. I'd like to thank you for the reviews, I'm really happy to see how much you guys are enjoying this. I'm sorry I didn't respond it, I'm having some trouble with it. I can't even respond or see the guest reviews. I don't know why. I already reported. So, if you sent a review and didn't see them yet, wait. I hope they'll be normal soon. Of course I still moderate them so if you offended me or my work I won't post it.**

 **Just to clarify, when I started writing this I already had the end in my mind. So even though some of you may think that Emily getting shot was to add extra drama it wasn't. If that was my intention I would have prolonged for several chapters but everything gets better here. I just always thought that the revelation to the team had to be something intense, not fluffy like always. And mostly I wanted to show them how much Hotch loves Emily and how much what they have is serious. So, sorry if you think it was unnecessary but this is how I planned.**

 **Like I said on Chapter 23, I would wrap this in three more chapters. So, next one will be the last on this fic. *pout* I'm really happy and proud with all the response I had in this work, thank you guys so much for it. This chapter it's pretty long, a present for you to redeem my delay. I really hope you like it. Please, sent a review.**

Chapter 26

 _3 hours earlier._

"Talk to me baby girl". Morgan said answering the phone. They were at the Ambassador's Office analyzing the last letter that was sent the night before. It contained more death threats and a picture of the Ambassador along with the BAU team on the first day of their investigation, saying that he shouldn't have called the feds.

"I found out something". She started excitedly. "There was an employee from the Embassy, James Belle, he was fired two weeks ago after eight years working there. He worked on the kitchen, he used to be the helper, he did the dishes, helped the cook, served the meals, did the grocery shop, you know, he did everything. He started a cook class in a Community Center but never finished. He had several complains about being too short-tempered or stealing food from the kitchen and even threatening the head-chef when he refused his help to cook for a big event they would have on the Embassy. He was pretty pissed when he was fired after another complain from the head-chef and shouted to everyone who wanted to hear that he would come back and make everyone that treated him like shit pay".

"Well, it fits the time-line and the profile… Do you have his address, sweetness?"

"Of course, hot-stuff. Already sent to your cells".

"Thanks mama". Morgan said turning to the others again. "We have a suspect. James Belle".

"The kitchen helper?" The Ambassador's assistant asked. "He was very intense, always angry, said we only explored him and never valued him for his work".

"Garcia sent us the address, let's take a look". He said and went to the SUY, along with Prentiss.

They were in Belle's doorstep and Morgan pounded into the door. "James Belle, FBI!" When there wasn't any answer from inside he kicked the door and the two agents stepped inside. "Clear!" He said clearing the living room and the kitchen.

"Clear!" Emily shouted from the back of the house, inside the suspect's bedroom. "Hey Morgan, come take a look at this!"

Morgan went to the bedroom and found her looking at a desk full of records and paper letters that matched with the ones sent to the Ambassador. There was also a bunch of pictures of the BAU team investigating the case at the Embassy and others from the Ambassador on different locations on the pass two weeks. "Well, that's definitely the unsub…" He said and then they heard a small thud coming from the kitchen. They aimed their guns and approached the noise, spotting the unsub trying to escape through a small window in the kitchen.

"Stop, FBI!" Morgan shouted and the unsub turned to them with his gun on his side, a terrified look on his face. "Drop the gun!"

Belle looked at them shaking his head. "I can't…" He raised his gun ready to shot when two shots were heard.

For a moment Morgan thought that it had been him and Prentiss who had fired but the he heard a gasp and a thud and looked back to see his partner on the floor, gripping her shoulder, blood slipping from her hands. "Emily!"

"Go check him…" Emily gasped and he went quickly, kicking the unsub's gun to the side and found no pulse.

"He's dead". He announced approaching her again, helping to make pressure on the wound. "Keep making pressure. This SSA Derek Morgan, I need medic assistance to 650, Kensington Road, MClean, Virginia. FBI agent shot, hurry!" He said frantically on the phone.

"D-Derek…" Emily moaned, already feeling numb.

"You have to stay with me, princess. Help is on the way. Do you hear me? Stay with me!" He said to her.

"A-ar…" She chocked before passing out.

"What? What did you say? Emily?" Morgan asked, trying to wake her but she didn't. The paramedics arrived and started to work on her and he called JJ to tell her what had happened.

 _Present Time_

"What?" Hotch gasped, pale at the news, putting the phone on speaker at Dave's request.

"We went to see a suspect and he was the unsub. He tried to escape but we spot him and he had a gun. He fired at the same time I did. I thought it had been Em but when I look back she was gripping her shoulder and there was blood. I called the paramedics and they took her. She was unconscious… I'm heading to the hospital right now. I had to wait for the techs and the police to run the scene. JJ and Garcia are already there, they said she's on surgery. The medics only said she lost a lot of blood and flatlined on the ambulance but they brought her back and stabilized her…" He said in one breath and Hotch shrugged to understand what he was saying.

"She flatlined?" Hotch whispered and Dave took the phone, seeing that he was in no condition to talk.

"Morgan, we're just finishing packing here at the station and we'll try to flight there soon. The weather is really bad and the pilots already said we shouldn't travel tonight but I'll see what I can do. Please, keep us updated. Call as soon the surgery ends." He said to the dark agent.

"Okay man. See you…" He answered, a little concerned at the way Hotch had reacted to the news.

"We need to go there. Call the pilots." Hotch directed forcefully to Dave.

"Calm down, Aaron. I'll call them." He was pretty sure that they weren't going to be able to flight that night but he would at least try to talk with the pilots. Fifteen minutes later he returned to the room and shook his head at his anxious friend. "They said there is no condition to wheels up tonight. All the flights were cancelled and the roads are closed too."

"What? But we have a _fucking_ jet! We should be able to leave anytime!" He said raising his voice.

"But we can't Aaron. The weather is bad for commercial and private lines. We can't risk our safety like that. They said we'll probably be able to leave tomorrow morning, when the visibility is better."

"No Dave, we have to go there tonight…" He started again but Dave cut him.

"We can't. We'll wait for news here from Morgan and when the pilots say it's safe we can go. You need to stay calm, Aaron…"

"Don't tell me what I need! I don't need to stay calm! I need Emily!" He shouted broken. "She flatlined Dave… she… I can't… I need her…I love her so much…" He gasped and sat back heavily on his chair, his legs shaking.

Reid was hearing the dialogue confused. "I don't get it…" He stammered. "Emily is engaged, Hotch…"

"With me, Spencer, she's engaged with me." Hotch said managing an amused smile at the boy's confused face.

"You're the mysterious boyfriend?" He asked shocked.

"Fiancé." He corrected him.

"Wow… I really didn't see that coming…" He said and the three agents managed to crack a smile.

"C'mon. Let's go back to the hotel and wait for Morgan's call." Dave said to them. He looked at the agonized look on his friend's face and smiled sympathetic. "She'll be fine, Aaron. She's strong and she has a lot to fight for. You guys will get married and have a really long a happy life."

Hotch managed to get on his feet again and smiled slightly at his friend. He really hoped that he was right.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Morgan, JJ and Garcia were pacing at the hospital, waiting for news about Emily. She'd been in surgery for the past three hours and only forty minutes ago a nurse came to tell them that everything was going fine and the surgery should take another hour. "Did you speak with Hotch?" JJ asked.

"Dave said that they can't flight tonight. Probably tomorrow morning…" Morgan answered.

"They must be so anxious…" Garcia said quietly.

"I can't even speak with Hotch. When I explained to him what had happened and that Emily had coded he went silence and Dave took the phone from him. Now, every time I call him is Dave who answers." They paced for another few minutes until they saw the doctor coming. "How is she?" Morgan demanded.

"Agent Prentiss is fine. The bullet went through and through and didn't hit any major organs but she lost a lot of blood, which caused the flat-lining. We managed to repair the damage and she will have to do some physiotherapy for a few weeks to regain full function of her arm. What caused more problems was the fetus. With her condition the surgery was much more risky but mom and baby are fine and out of danger…" The doctor said and frowned at the shocked look on the agents' faces. "You guys didn't know she was pregnant?"

"I don't think she knows yet…" JJ said in awe.

"Oh my God, my dark-haired heaven beauty is going to have a baby!" Garcia said with tears in her eyes.

"Can we see her, doctor?" Morgan asked.

"She'll be transferred to a recovery room soon and then I'll send a nurse to direct you guys. Because of the baby and the loss of blood she needs to rest a lot so she'll probably sleep until morning." The others nodded and thanked him while Morgan took his cellphone to call Hotch.

" _Morgan?_ " Dave's voice came again. Why Hotch wasn't answering?

"Hey Dave. She just got out of surgery. Everything is okay, she'll be transferred to a recovery room soon and will sleep until morning. The doctor said she lost a lot of blood and that's why she flatlined. She'll have to do some physiotherapy to regain full function but other than that she's okay." He said and heard the other man let out a breath.

" _Thank God. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning. Get some rest, you guys. We'll meet at the hospital._ " He said before hanging up.

"Why you didn't tell him about the baby?" Garcia asked.

"That's Emily's business, baby girl. She doesn't even know yet, probably. Let her be the one who tells them…" He said and both women nodded. They sat to wait the nurse.

"We don't even know who her fiancé is. He should be here too…" Garcia said.

"There's nothing we can do. We'll have to wait for her to wake up and tell us…" JJ said.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"See? Everything is okay, she'll sleep until morning and by the time she wakes we'll probably be there already." Dave said at Hotch.

"I know… I just want to see her…" Hotch said.

"You will. Tomorrow. Now you have to sleep because she'll need you full functioning tomorrow…" Dave said patting his back and nodding to Spencer to the door. "Sleep, Aaron. We'll leave in the morning."

"Kay Dave…" He murmured going to the bathroom. He changed into his sweatpants and a Harvard t-shirt, smiling at the slight scent of Emily in it. She had slept in it earlier that week and that's why he brought it, to have her smell near him to sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Be okay sweetheart… I'm coming, I promise…" He whispered before letting sleep catch him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The annoying beep was the first thing she notice when she woke up. There was a rush noise of someone talking and when she opened her mouth to talk there was something preventing her. She opened her eyes panicked and tried to take the thing off when JJ's face appeared in front of her. "It's okay, Em. It's a tube helping you to breathe. The nurse is coming already, okay? Just let it breathe for you…" She said soothingly and Emily tried to calm herself, letting the tube breathe for her with some difficulty.

"Agent Prentiss, is good to see you awake." The doctor said entering the room followed by a nurse. "Let's take this off right now, okay?" At her nod he took the tube in his hand. "Okay, when I pull it out you need to cough for me. Now, cough." He said taking the tube off. She coughed and winced at the burn on her throat. There was a straw in front of her suddenly and she quickly sipped some water.

"W-what happened?" She asked, her voice still scratchy.

"You were shot when we went to talk with Belle. He was the unsub. He shot you at the same time I shot him…" Morgan said looking at her.

"The bullet went through and through and didn't hit any major organs. You lost a lot of blood but we did the needed transfusions and you'll be able to leave in a couple of days. You'll need physiotherapy for your shoulder but other than that, you're okay." The doctor explained to her and she nodded. "Now, did you know you were pregnant, Agent Prentiss?"

Emily widened her eyes to the doctor. "Pregnant?" She whispered and put her hand on her belly. Suddenly her head snap up to him again. Was pregnant? "Is everything okay with my baby? Please tell me everything is okay…" She asked frantically.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I used the wrong terms. You are pregnant. The fetus was an aggravating in your surgery but we monitored it and everything is perfectly fine with it. Later, an obstetrician we'll come to do a scan and you'll be able to see it. That's also why we want you to stay for a couple of days, to make sure that everything is really okay with the baby…" The doctor said and she let out a sob.

"Oh my God. A baby. A little baby…" She whispered in awe looking at her teammates.

"Congratulations, princess…" Morgan said smiling at her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "You really scared me. Don't do that again." He said serious and she nodded. She looked at them and noticed the other team absence. Where was Aaron?

"We didn't know who is your fiancé so we couldn't call him, sugarplum." Garcia said.

"I know, I'm sorry guys. Where are the rest of the guys?" She asked.

"Our fearless leader and the rest of the boys should be here at any minute. They were caught up in NY because of the weather but Rossi already called saying that they landed." Garcia said and then the door was swung open.

" _Emily._ " Hotch entered the room with a pained expression and raced to her bed, not even looking at the others in the room.

"I'm okay…" She whispered and before she knew she was engulfed by his arms.

"God, sweetheart…" He whispered painfully in her hair, caressing it and her back. "I was so scared…" He said before pulling back and looking at her. "I thought I was going to lose you…"

"I'm okay, babe…" She smiled at him, caressing his cheek. He leaned in and took her mouth with his in a passionate kiss, seeking entrance with his tongue and mapping every inch of her mouth when she opened for him.

The rest of the team in the room looked at the scene dumbfounded, while Dave and Reid looked at the couple with smiles on their faces. They had seen the despair in Hotch's face during the whole wait for news and both knew, by the shadows under his eyes, that he hadn't slept almost anything. The whole flight and drive to the hospital he was anxious and fidgety, asking for Dave to drive faster and tapping his foot continuously the whole trip.

When they finally pulled apart, both breathless, Hotch continued to kiss her cheeks, nose, forehead, jaw and neck, savoring her presence and trying to convince himself that she was fine and alive. "I love you so much…" He whispered.

"I love you too… I love you too…" She whispered back, giving him another kiss. When she pulled back she looked at the other two men that had arrived with him, smiling. "Hey Dave, Reid…"

"Hello sweetie. It's so good to see you… You gave us a quite scare. I had to deal with a panicked Aaron for almost twelve hours. You own me big, girl…" He said amused and Hotch glared at him.

Emily chuckled, wincing a little bit at the pain on her shoulder. "Thanks Dave…" She said running her fingers through her fiancé's hair.

"Wait a minute. So, Hotch is your fiancé?" Morgan asked incredulously, making them look at the three shocked agents.

"Wow, she could do so much worse…" Hotch said dryly and Dave and Emily chuckled.

"Yes, Morgan… I'm sorry we didn't tell you guys… Aaron wanted it but I was kind of panicked with the repercussions and with the teasing you guys would make and… anyway, I'm sorry…" Emily said apologetically.

"Oh my God!" Garcia gasped. "So you're the mysterious boyfriend?" She asked looking at Hotch.

"Yes, I am." He said smiling.

"And you're the fiancé?"

"Yes, I am."

"And you're the baby daddy?"

"Yes, I-what?" He asked with wide eyes, looking at Emily.

She smiled at him and took his hand, placing on her belly. "I'm pregnant, honey…"

"Pregnant?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Yes…"

"As in we're going to have a baby?" He clarified.

"Yes. We're having a baby…" She said anxious. Was he mad? "I really didn't know. They found out here and the doctor said everything is okay… I'm sorry, I know we didn't really talk about this and…" He stopped her with a fierce kiss and pulled back with a full-dimpled smile on his face.

"We're having a baby!" He exclaimed.

"Are you happy?" She asked him.

"Happy? Happy doesn't even begin to cover…" He grinned at her. "I told you I wanted everything with you, including a family. You were the one who freaked out, remember?"

"Oh, I remember…" Dave said chuckling.

"Yeah, I know…" She said blushing. "So… you're happy?" She confirmed.

He looked at her quietly for a few seconds before smiling. "Sweetheart, there isn't anything that could make me happier…" He said leaning down to kiss her belly. "Hey sweetie…" He whispered to their child. "I already love you so much, even though you already almost gave me a heart attack. I bet you'll be a troublemaker just like your mom… I'm screwed." He said and everyone chuckled at the indignant scoff Emily made.

"Hey!"

"Hey what? We've been together for a little more than two months and you almost die twice! You're going to kill me…" He said serious. "You are forbidden of scaring me like this again, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." She said mockingly.

"Not funny, Emily. Not funny…"

"Can I just say one thing?" Morgan asked. "I really didn't see this coming…" He said gesturing between the two of them. "But I'm really happy for you guys. I don't know two people who would deserve more…"

"Thank you Morgan…" Hotch said smiling. "The dinner at our place won't happen now, of course. But as soon as she's okay and at home everyone is invited. We have a lot to celebrate…"

"Our place? You guys are living together?" JJ asked.

"I never moved back. We've only been together since after Foyet was over but we're living together since my attack…" He clarified.

"And why Dave already knows about it?" Morgan asked.

"You guys call yourselves profilers. It's so obvious how much these two love each other that I'm really shocked I was the only one who figured it out…" He said chuckling.

"Okay, even though I'm deeply wounded that you hid this from me, sugarplum, I'm so happy! You guys are so cute together and seriously, this will be the most drop-gorgeous baby in the whole history of babies!" Garcia squealed making everyone chuckle.

"If she is anything like her mother she'll be the most beautiful creature in the world…" Hotch said looking at Emily, who blushed.

"You're a goof." She mocked him. "And we don't even know if it's a girl…"

"Nuh uh, just telling the true sweetheart…" He shook his head. "And it is a girl. I know…"

She smiled at him and pulled him closer by the lapel of his jacket, kissing him sweetly. "I love you so much…" She whispered, ignoring the mocking noises from Morgan and the squeals from Garcia.

"I love you more…" He whispered back.

 **A/N: Next one will be the last and the Epilogue. I'd love some suggestions. Let a review, please...**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hi! I'm very sorry I didn't post this sooner. I had a little accident... I fell and hurt my back and I could sit for much time so using the computer was out of question... I'm sorry again. I'm not one-hundred percent okay yet but I managed to finish this. My new fic will be up later this week, I hope. Please, go take a look...**

 **Here is the end of This Thing Called Love and I'm so proud. This was the first serious fic I wrote and I know how much I evolved at every chapter and every review you guys let me... Thank you for sticking with me until the end. It's not really long because I just wanted to tie some nots and have some team fun before the end. Thank you again, I hope you like it!**

Chapter 27

They were chatting at her room, answering the questions about how they hook up together when Hotch's phone started to ring. He pulled out from his jacket and looked at the ID. "Oh, it's Hay. I have to take this. Be right back". He said kissing her before leaving.

"So, Haley is really okay with you two together?" JJ asked.

"She was the one who gave him the push he needed after Foyet… she's really okay with it. We had dinner together sometimes, she lets Jack stay over our place… she recently started to see someone…" Emily explained.

"Really?"

"Hm hmm. Aaron even gave his name to Garcia do some research. He started with all his protectiveness shit but I talked to him and he stepped down…" She said chuckling.

"And you have no problem him being bothered about her?" Morgan asked.

"Why should I? She is the mother of his son, they have a bound. He will always love her and take care of her but he's not in love with her anymore. He's in love with me and he proves me that every single day…"

"And you're completely right, like always…" Hotch said entering the room. "There is a little boy wanting to speak with his Super Emmy". He said smiling.

Emily smiled brightly and took the phone. "Hi baby!"

 _"_ _Hi Emmy! Daddy said you had a bad boo-boo…"_ He said worried.

"Yes, honey. I do have a bad boo-boo but the doctor already fixed me and I'll be home soon, okay?"

 _"_ _And then we can have our picnic?"_ He asked excitedly.

"Of course sweetheart, as soon as I'm all better we'll have our picnic like we promised, okay?"

 _"_ _Kay… Love you Emmy… mommy wants to talk with you…"_

"I love you too, baby. Pass the phone to mommy…"

 _"_ _Hey… Aaron told me the news, congratulations!"_

"Thank you Haley… I'm still shocked but I can't even describe how happy I am…" She said smiling.

 _"_ _I know… I felt the same with Jack… So, Aaron's already driving you nuts?"_

Emily chuckled. "Not yet, but I think it's because we just found out. When we get home it's another story…"

 _"_ _Oh, be prepared. He's insane…"_ Haley said laughing.

"He better behave himself because I may be pregnant but I still can kick his ass. And I have a gun…" She said and they both chuckled. They said their goodbyes and hang up and she passed the phone back to Hotch.

"What were you two talking about me, uh?" He asked amused.

"She was asking if you were already driving me nuts…" She said and he chuckled.

"That's really unfair… I have a right to worry okay?"

"I know babe, just need to learn to dose it…" She said kissing his cheek.

They stayed talking in her room until Garcia clapped her hands catching everyone's attention. "Okay, you boys go to the cafeteria get some coffee and leave us ladies alone, would you?"

"I think this is a code to kick us out and start talking about your sex life, Aaron…" Dave said amused at the look on his friend's face.

"Emily…" Hotch said warningly.

"Don't worry babe, I'll behave…" She said and winked at him.

"This really doesn't easy my worries…" He murmured before giving her a kiss and leaving with the others.

"Okay, spit out". Garcia ordered sitting at the chair beside Emily's bed.

"What do you want to know?" She asked chuckling.

"Everything! I can't imagine boss man doing romantic boyfriend, but by the amount of pet names we already heard today I'd take he is…" She said and JJ nodded in agreement.

Emily sighed contently and smiled. "He is so… perfect". She started. "I can't even describe it properly… he's so caring, so sweet and tender… he's the best I've ever had, you know. He just ruined me for any other man in the world…"

"The best you've ever had in every way?" She asked wiggling her eyebrow and JJ laughed.

"Oh, girls… you have no idea…" She said mischievously.

"Ohhhh, tell us more!"

"He's amazing… you know all the power he exhales in the field? Let me just say that in the bedroom it's one hundred percent more intense…" She said breathlessly and chuckled at Garcia's wide eyes. "Let's say that I've actually passed out sometimes…"

"So, I'd take that he's very well equipped?" JJ asked suggestively.

"Oh, he definitely has a reason to be called the _Unit Chief_ …" She said and they burst out on laugh.

"You're really whipped, aren't you?" JJ asked amusedly after they calm themselves.

"I'm… I'm completely, utterly, deeply, totally in love with him…" She said smiling. "I can't even imagine my life without him by my side…"

"I'm really happy for you guys…" She said smiling. She honestly didn't know two people who deserved more being this happy and she could only hope that it really lasted forever.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Hey guys…" Hotch smiled answering the door. It had been five days since Emily's shooting and they had invited the team for the dinner at their apartment. "Come in… Em is resting a little bit but I'll be waking her soon…"

"Oh, you don't need to, boss-man… she needs to rest…" Garcia said.

"Try saying this to her… she already threatened my life a dozen times since we got back from the hospital… she said I was fussing her too much. I don't know if it's her stubbornness or pregnancy hormones but either way I've learnt to step back for my own safety…" He said chuckling.

"Oh, you finally found someone to boss you around, uh?" Dave smirked.

"She has me wrapped around her little finger and she knows it…" He nodded.

"As if you don't like it…" She said smiling coming from the bedroom. "Hey guys…"

"Hey princess… how are you feeling?" Morgan asked hugging her.

"Ugh, morning sickness sucks. I wasn't feeling anything before I knew but know I can't even smell coffee. I'm starting to think it's psychological…" She groaned.

"Oh, she can't smell coffee, steak and apparently my aftershave…" Hotch said rolling his eyes.

"You want to sleep in the guest room, don't you?" She asked him seriously.

He laughed at her. "Right, like you would make me. You don't even let me get change before you throw me into bed…"

"And why on earth would I want you to get change? You're just so delicious with nothing on…" She said naughty wrapping her good arm around his neck and nibbling his jaw.

"Oh you too, stop with the mushy!" Morgan groaned.

"Pregnancy hormones, Derek". JJ smirked.

"Yeah, this part of the hormones thing I'm quite fond with…" Hotch said and they chuckled.

They sat at the living room and ate the Chinese that they had brought with them. "So, when you guys will be tying the knot?" Dave asked.

"We have to wait at least for her shoulder to be completely healed and functioning… but I guess in a couple of months. Definitely before our little princess arrives…" Hotch said smiling sitting at the couch with Emily snuggled by his side.

"You're really certain that it's a girl, aren't you?"

"I have a feeling… if it's a boy I'll love him just as much but something tells me that it's a little Em…" He answered, everyone noticing the sparkle on his eyes.

"And you guys picked names yet?" Garcia asked excitedly.

"We discussed yesterday and came out with a winner if it's a girl. Anna Catherine Hotchner. Anna after Aaron's mom and Catherine because of my grandma…" Emily said smiling.

"It's so beautiful, Em…" JJ said. "And what if it's a boy?"

"We agreed in Anthony for his middle name, after Em's father. But we haven't decided the first name yet…" Hotch answered.

Dave got up and filled everyone's glasses with wine, except for Emily and Hotch who decided to stay with water like his fiancé. "I suggest we make a toast. To Emily and Aaron, because I don't know two people who deserve more happiness and love like you two. Thank God you decided to take your heads out of your asses and saw what was right in front of you all the time. Have a life full of blessing, love and respect and that this little baby, boy or girl, be just the begging of this beautiful family you two are building together. Emily and Aaron!"

"Emily and Aaron!" All of them raised their glasses to the couple while Hotch cupped her face and kissed her passionately.

"I love you". He murmured against her lips when they parted breathlessly.

"I love you". She murmured back.

After all they had passed through, all the difficulties, all the problems, all the doubts and mistakes, he had finally found on each other the meaning of true love. After suffering from the loss of his family, the end of his marriage and everything he thought would be his world for the rest of his life he had found, where he last expected, in the eyes full of compassion, in the arms full of understanding of his subordinate that he could be, should be and would be happy again. After denying himself so long and trying to fight against it he had succumbed at the reality he always needless feared. He was completely and shamelessly in love with this woman and would pass the rest of his life trying to make her happy, being forever thankful for her teaching him what the word love truly means.

 **THE END.**


End file.
